Love of an Aunt
by Insiyahxo
Summary: It's the end of third year, and Harry dreads going back to the Dursleys. Suddenly he receives a letter - one that changes his whole life. Someone's going to be wondering what happened to that meek little boy of before... IndependentHarry! HPxDG (Temporarily on hold till mid November)
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer - No part of the Harry Potter series belong to me, other than any of my OCs, and of course the plot.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Love of an Aunt**

**A Harry Potter FanFiction**

**Prologue**

**2:34 pm, 17th May 1980**

"Good news! I've finally decided that this kid must be yours."

Lily and Elena approached the table where James was sitting by the windows of the Three Broomsticks. He glanced up gives a small grin.

"Done a paternity test in the toilets?"

"Simple logic," Lily replied, when they reach the table. She placed a hand over her stomach. "Since the little monster so clearly finds it utterly hilarious to sit upon my bladder and cause me to pee every forty-five seconds, who else's kid could it be?"

"I beg your pardon, wife," James chided as Lily dropped slowly into the chair next to him. His arm moved instantly around her shoulders. Elena retook her seat across the lovebirds, watching her brother and sister, amused as always by their bickering. "I am far too clever to be amused by something as dim as toilet humor."

"Oh. Well. Mystery's still on, then." Lily gave a small hum as James pulled her closer and pressed a quick kiss against her temple. She picked up the menu lying flat across the table, scanning the familiar dishes with nostalgia. Elena did the same. "Have you ordered?" the eighteen years old Potter asked.

"Waiting for you two," James replied.

"Oh, good. This kid is going crazy for something greasy and disgusting. So you order that and I'll order something dainty and I'll just eat off your plate." Lily muttered.

James's laughed against his wife's hair. "You order what you want. I'm not hungry. I'll pretend to eat whatever you need."

Elena's head shot up in surprise. She had never heard the words "not" and "hungry" uttered together by her brother before. She wasn't surprised to find him staring down at the letter again, the fingers holding the parchment white with tension. She frowned at him as Lily placed her hand on his arm.

"James, please stop. You've read it a thousand times. The words aren't going to change."

Hazel eyes flash back up, but they were not the warm, twinkling pools of color they normally were. James was worried, and that had Elena's insides cramping up in knots.

The heavy sigh escaped from his lips slowly. "I know," he said, folding up the letter. "But I can't help thinking why Dumbledore asked us to meet him at Hogwarts. And why's his note so terse? 'There is something that I recently gained knowledge of that you should hear'. What does that mean?"

"I don't know, James. But you're probably fretting over nothing. It's probably some kind of Order business—"

"Something he couldn't have told us at the meeting?" James was clearly dubious, pulling a face. He shook his head. "No, it's something else. And I have a bad feeling about it."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now," Lily said, giving his hand a squeeze. "Let's just eat, and then we'll head up there. What comes will come. We'll face whatever it is together." Elena swallowed.

"James. Look at me," she commanded. Once she was sure she has his attention, she continued. "We all will deal with this together, okay? Remember, you and me against the world?" James smiled a little, remembering the childhood promise he made to her. "And now we have Lily too. So it's going to be the three of us against the world. And all three of us will be there to protect Baby. Alright?" Her brown eyes bored into his hazel ones.

After a small staring contest, James conceded. "Alright."

Lily pressed a quick kiss on her husband's chin, but his jaw remained grimly tight, and both ladies were thankful for the distraction Rosmerta provided when she sauntered up to take their order. The barmaid made some small talk and cooed over Lily's pregnant belly, but the lunch crowd was steadily pouring in, and the barmaid had to move on. James remained more or less quiet throughout the entire exchange.

Elena tried to quell the feeling she had in her gut. A feeling that she knew could possibly mean nothing good.

* * *

**12: 15 am, 31****st**** July 1980**

Elena was enchanted by that bright green. Her nephew's eyes, _Lily's_ eyes, peered out at her from a face that was completely James. She smiled, and tried to shake off the dazzled feeling she got from him.

"He's beautiful, Lily."

Her sister in law smiled; exhausted from the six hours long labour she went through. She was slumped back on the bed, her eyes closed as the doctors and nurses in the Muggle hospital they chose rushed around, clearing away instruments and whatnot. A doctor addressed Elena, asking her to follow the nurses to bathe and weigh the baby. She did as instructed, all the while keeping her eyes on the baby boy in her arms. He had gone to sleep by now, but he was still covered in blood and fluid, wrapped in a blue towel.

Elena handed Baby Prongslet off to the nurse and headed out to where she knew her brother would be going crazy. And she was right. He was pacing the hallway, while Padfoot and Moony looked on. All their faces were worried, and James practically rushed to her as soon as she turned the corner.

"Well?" He had this eager look on his face. Padfoot and Moony were no less eager.

Elena smiled brightly. "It's a baby boy!"

James shouted happily and wrapped his arms around her, twirling her around while laughing crazily. She was also laughing, as were Moony and Padfoot, all drowning in their own and the other's feelings, thankful that Prongslet and Lily were both fine.

Eventually, James put her down and got his emotions under control. Elena took this opportunity to ask, "What about Alice?"

"She had a son as well," Moony replied happily. "He was born around five minutes before midnight. They named him Neville."

Elena was even happier now. She now had two baby boys to dote on, and that gave her a feeling she cannot describe. With a happy laugh, she said, "I'm going to go back in to Prongslet and find Neville now. A nurse will let you know as soon as Lily's settled in, alright? She'll be in the same room as Alice, so you might as well go wait there. Frank will be kicked out when Lily is brought in." She left after she got three enthusiastic nods, which quite honestly; made the boys look like bobble heads.

For once, the prophecy wasn't on her mind.

* * *

**10:43pm, 31****st**** October 1981**

"Alice, you need to stop thanking me. I'm glad to help when it comes to Harry and Neville. You know you can ask me anytime."

Her boys - as she called Harry and Neville – were the most adorable people on Earth. So why should she mind helping out their parents? And going from Longbottom house to Godric's Hollow every two weeks was a nice change of scenery.

Tomorrow Elena returned to Godric's Hollow to spend the first two weeks of the month with her big brother and his family. The next two, again would be with the Longbottoms. She could honestly say that even through the war, and losing her parents, she was lucky enough to have a family she loved, and who loved her.

After putting Neville to bed, Alice, Frank and she spent some time in the living room of their cozy little house. Hardly as large as Longbottom Manor, but safer since Voldemort would never suspect the Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom to live somewhere like this, just as he would never suspect the Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter to live in that little cottage in Godric's Hollow.

Alice turned on the Wizarding Wireless and the three settled down to listen to another war report, silently hoping none of their loved ones would be among those attacked this time.

"…reports that You-Know-Who is dead! This happened approximately an hour ago. He was found in a small house in Godric's Hollow," all three straighten from their slouched positions at this, "at a small cottage where James and Lily Potter resided with their son Harry…"

Elena could barely breathe. Her mind was blank, waiting for the horror to come yet.

"…James was found dead in the living room…"

She gasped.

What?

No.

NO!

"…Lily was found upstairs in what is believed to have been the nursery…"

She was looking at the radio, completely frozen now.

James and Lily were dead.

Her brother and sister are gone.

She was all alone now.

"…but the miracle is that one year old Harry Potter was found crying in his crib…

She blinked. Harry is alive?

"…with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead…"

"...suspected to be from the Killing Curse…"

"…only survivor of this tragedy…"

Elena looked up at Frank and Alice. Both were staring at her in stunned silence. She blinked and swallowed repeatedly, and jumps up. "I need to go there. Now."

She turns and rushes out of the house and apparated to Godric's Hollow.

* * *

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	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - Harry Potter does not belong to me. Sadly. I think I might cry my eyes out. But Elena does belong to me, so I think I'll live after all.**

**AN - So, yeah... This is the first chapter of Love of an Aunt. It seems kinda slow right now, and kinda lame right now, but it will get better. I promise. And a huge thanks to shadowsmage, daithi4437, Wolf Strife, Le Diablo Blanc2, pierre's spectacles, and fairywm for reviewing, and to everyone else for clicking the Follow and Favourites buttons. Love you all :)**

* * *

**Love of an Aunt**

**A Harry Potter FanFiction**

**Chapter 1**

**8:30pm, 14th June 1994**

Harry was relieved. His exams were over, and all he had to do now is pack. Tomorrow, he'd be taking the train back to the Dursleys, or as the twins called it, Durskaban. At least he could use his godfather as a threat against them this year. Though he would miss Ron and Hermione, he'd be with them soon in time for the Quidditch World Cup. Maybe he would even get to spend time with Cho Chang…

Tap tap.

He jerked out of his thoughts and looks around to find a tawny owl at the window. He crossed the room and opened it, letting the owl fly inside. It landed on his bedside table and looked at him with beady eyes.

"Hello there. Do you have something for me?" Speaking to the owl as he approaches it calmed it down a little, and though the little avian was clearly wary of him, the letter was relinquished without much problem. As soon as it's load got delivered, it flew back out of the window, clearly planning on going to the Owlery.

The letter had his name on the front in a simple, but unfamiliar script. He opened the letter curiously, wondering who would write to him this late at night.

_Dear Harry,_

_You don't know me. In fact, I doubt you are even aware of my existence, because of certain interfering individuals you are surrounded by. I cannot tell you who I am, but I will say that you and I are related by blood on your father's side. I cannot say more than that, and I am aware that this still counts a large amount of people, but I cannot say more here._

_Come to the Whomping Willow at midnight, and bring Neville Longbottom with you. I will explain what I can. As a sign of good faith and trust, I have always been the brains behind the Marauders, though I have not mentioned in the Map. Show this letter to Remus Lupin if you do not trust me. He knows who I am, and I daresay will want to come along as well. He is welcome to join you if you feel comfortable with it. Do not, under any circumstances, show this to Ronald Weasley or Hermione Granger._

_I solemnly swear I am up to no good, _  
_E. A. P._

Harry's curiosity was definitely piqued enough to go to the common room, find Neville and go find Professor Lupin, however, the letter cautioned him not to show Ron and Hermione. For a minute or so, he considered showing them nonetheless, but decided against it.

Hiding the letter in his pocket, he went back to the common room and joined Ron in a game of wizard's chess while Hermione read a book nearby and Seamus, Dean and Neville watched on. After being thoroughly trounced, Ron, Hermione, Seamus and Dean headed up to bed. Neville was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, and reading a Herbology book. Harry joined him and looked at the flames.

"Neville?"

He looked up and closed his book. "Yes, Harry?"

"I sort of need your help. Will you be willing to come with me?"

Neville looked at him thoughtfully. "Will we be breaking any rules?"

"Sneaking out after curfew and leaving the castle for sure. Maybe others as well."

Neville shrugged. "Why not? What do you need?"

"It's not that simple, actually. I got a letter. And whoever wrote to me wants me and you to go to the Whomping Willow at midnight."

"Who wrote the letter?"

"I don't know. But it is someone related to me by blood, which doesn't exactly specify anything, but they also mentioned that they were part of a secret group of sorts, which included my dad and Professor Lupin, so I was planning on showing this to him before going to the Whomping Willow. And they're asking that you come along."

Neville raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "Can I see this letter?"

Harry handed it over, and stared at the flames while Neville read it. His mind was working overtime – who wanted to meet him so badly? Why should he exclude Ron and Hermione? Why only Neville and Professor Lupin?

Before the boys knew it, it was time to leave to find Professor Lupin. Harry sat up stiffly and stretched while Neville put his book away. Before they left the common room, however, Harry showed Neville his Invisibility Cloak. Neville just grinned. "This explains how you avoid teachers while roaming around the castle after curfew," he exclaimed.

Harry smiled sheepishly. "It belonged to my dad, who would have wanted me to use it this way. Who am I to disappoint?"

He put the cloak around them and the two boys left the common room. Neville's heart was beating loudly and he was looking around in fascination, while Harry was just focused on getting to the DADA classroom.

They stopped only when arriving outside the classroom. Harry looked around to make sure they were alone, and then opened the door, slipping inside silently. Neville quietly followed and closed the door. They slipped the cloak off and Harry looked around.

"Harry? Neville?"

They looked up to see Professor Lupin at the door to his office, pointing his wand at them. Once he saw them clearly, he put it in the pocket of his dressing gown and came downstairs. "What in Merlin are you doing here at this time? You do realize curfew was an hour back?"

Neville looked terrified, so Harry answered. "We need to ask you something. I'm afraid it is urgent."

Lupin raised an eyebrow, but nodded towards the desks. The three wizards sat down, and Harry removed the letter from his pocket.

"A few hours ago, I received this letter in my dorm. Whoever sent it wrote that you are aware of their identity, and that you could come along to meet them if you were willing."

Lupin took the letter from Harry with a skeptical look and read it. His eyes widened and wide smile broke out as they reached the end. He looked at Harry and Neville (who had calmed down by this time) and said, "I will most definitely join you if you are alright with it."

Harry grinned, "If I didn't want you to, I wouldn't have asked. And Neville and I could use the help of an older wizard if this is a trap."

Lupin stood up. "Stay here while I go change into something more appropriate." With that, he rushed away, leaving Harry and Neville staring after him. Neville turned to Harry.

"He seemed oddly enthusiastic. He must have been very close to whoever we are meeting." Harry just nodded.

The two boys and their Professor left soon, quietly making their way to the grounds, barely even pausing as they crossed the Entrance Hall and left the castle. The walk up to the Whomping Willow was long, and filled with anticipation on Harry and Neville's parts, and excitement on Lupin's, though he made an effort to temper it down.

Harry had no idea what to expect. Who could it possibly be? His only relatives were the Dursleys, and they would never in a million years step foot in any magical place, much less Hogwarts.

The three reached the Whomping Willow, which was swaying slightly even though there was no breeze. It was almost midnight, and the three waited impatiently, but quietly.

"Harry?"

The boy immediately raised his wand, looking around, trying to find the person. Neville clutched his left hand, while Lupin simply looked around, wand clutched loosely at his side.

"Over here."

Harry finally found the person – there was someone covered in a hooded black cloak at the entrance to the Shrieking Shack. It was a woman, by the sound of her voice. She beckoned them to hurry up. Lupin quickly went to her. Puzzled, Harry followed, leading Neville who was still grasping his forearm. She took out her wand and lit it with a whispered 'Lumos', illuminating the hallway. The group of four walked quietly, following the woman. She led them down a long corridor and into a room at the end, holding the door open as Lupin, Harry and Neville entered, and closing it once they were in the room. She took a deep breath, removed her hood, and turned around to face them.

Harry gasped.

This woman looked so much like him! She had the same dark hair, and almost the same face, though, he noted, her cheekbones were higher than hers. Her cheeks were hollow, though, unlike Sirius, it looked natural in her case, not caused by starvation. Her hazel eyes, so similar to his father's eyes, looked at him with a mixture of emotions he could not decipher. She smiled sadly, looking over him, then Neville.

"Hello, Harry. Hello, Neville." Her voice was soft, and it brought up ghostly memories of a long forgotten time. He could hear a similar voice softly crooning what felt like a lullaby. Beside him, Neville gasped.

Harry looked at him. Neville's face had an odd mixture of expressions on it, as if it could not decide on one expression – one emotion to settle on. He turned back to the woman.

"Who are you?"

Her eyes were watery, and her lips trembled a bit as she replied.

"My name is Elena Potter, Harry. And I am your aunt, and your and Neville's godmother."

* * *

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	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer - I only own Elena and the plot... :(**

**AN - Chapter 2 is finally here! Yeah, there are a lot of loopholes I'm leaving unanswered right now, but just to clarify, Lupin was not outed by Snape, so he'd leave Hogwarts at the end of the school year. Though Harry does have the Map. That part will be in a few chapters as a flashback. **

**Thank you to Justus J. Jackson, Penny is Wise, Meegles, fifespice, Vi38, daithi4377 and Wolfman 613 for reviewing, and to everyone else for clicking the Follow and Favorites buttons! I'm really finding it hard to believe that I already have more than a 100 follows - 109 to be exact, and 62 Favorites. I love you all so much! :)**

**And I will be taking two weeks for every chapter. I want to give the best I can to you guys - I owe it to myself if nothing else. So every two Tuesdays, look forward to another part revealed!**

* * *

**Love of An Aunt**

**A Harry Potter FanFiction**

**Chapter 2**

**12:08am, 15****th**** June 1994**

Harry's jaw hit the floor. Besides him, Neville also had a confused look on his face, like he was trying to figure something out. "But when I asked my grandmother said that you were dead!" He exclaimed.

Elena gave him a grim smile. "It's a very long story, Neville, and I'm afraid there is not enough time right now to explain. But if all goes according to plan, then I will be able to answer any and all of your questions after tomorrow, I promise." Her entire being begged him to believe her. To trust her.

Neville looked her in the eyes, trying to decipher the emotions he found there. He must have found what he was looking for, because he nodded. Elena shifted her hopeful gaze to Harry.

"Harry?" He just blinked at her. "Can you believe me when I tell you that I had no choice in leaving you, and that I will explain soon?"

Harry just nodded, his face blank of any emotions.

Elena smiled. It was a beautiful smile, one filled with happiness and hope. There were tears in her eyes, and her face was glowing. For a moment, she looked exactly like his father did in his photo album.

There was movement behind the boys and Elena's eyes slid behind them. She gasped. "Remus!"

Lupin stepped forward and embraced Elena like a long lost friend. She rose on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder and closing her eyes, a tear tracing a path down her cheek. She was shaking. "Hello again, brother," she whispered.

Harry and Neville were watching wide-eyed. Eventually the two separated and Elena wiped her cheeks, as Lupin recomposed himself.

Elena turned back to Harry and Neville. "If everything goes right and it should, I will see you both in two days." Her eyes had a wistful look as she gazed at them. She raised her hand a little, but hesitated and curled her fingers into a fist, bringing it to her side. She smiled at them – a smile filled with sadness at missed opportunities.

Elena suddenly whirled around. "And you," she sharply pointed a finger at Lupin, who was standing behind her. His eyes widened in obvious alarm. "You are staying with me. Nuh-uh," she snapped when Lupin opened his mouth, "no protests. You're staying with me and you don't really have a choice."

"But-"

"Ah-ah."

"Ele-"

"Shush!" She gave him a glare that immediately made him shut his mouth. He nodded mutely, knowing just how stubborn she could be.

"Good." She turned back to the boys, but addressed Lupin as well. "The three of you should get back before someone notices anything. And you two," she looked at the boys, "need to make sure that Ronald and Hermione are not aware of this. Act as you normally do. Please," she pleaded, "trust me." Harry hesitantly nodded and turned towards the door.

"Harry." He turned his head back to look at her and was met with a mischievous smile. "You should've used the Map," she winked.

Harry grinned and crossed the doorway, Neville besides him with a confused frown on his face. Lupin was right behind them. "I'll tell you later," he mouthed to his god brother.

* * *

**7:15am, 15****th**** June 1994**

"Harry! Wake up! Breakfast!" Ron's loud voice met his ears, dragging him from the depths of slumber. Instead of moving, he lay still, hoping Ron would leave him to go back to sleep. He had no such luck.

"Harry!" Sighing inwardly, Harry sat up, stretching and rubbing his eyes.

"Morning," he croaked at Ron, before falling back on the mattress with a groan. He felt like he had only slept for two hours or so, what with the amount of sleep he'd been getting lately.

"Hurry up!" Harry would have rolled his eyes if he was more awake, but instead just got up, making his way to the bathroom while still half asleep. In a trance like state, he stripped and got under the shower, turning it on.

"_Bloody hell! What in Merlin-"_

Freezing cold water splashed down and drenched him, reducing him to a wide awake, but shivering and trembling mess. Still swearing, he adjusted the knobs to his favored temperature, sighing in relief when he stepped back under the spray.

"Harry?" Dean rushed into the washroom. "Is everything alright? We heard shouting?"

"Everything is fine, Dean. Someone decided to leave the shower at ice cold water, and I just turned it on without adjusting the knobs."

Dean chuckled and left, giving Harry his privacy.

Now that Harry was awake, his thoughts turned to last night. He had another aunt. One who was his dad's sister. And she also knew Lupin and Sirius. And she was his godmother. His thoughts were going round and round in a circle, with no end or beginning. _Well_, he thought as he wrapped a towel around his waist, he had a lot of questions. And what did she mean, "answer all your questions in the next few days"? What was she planning? What about the Dursleys?

His eyes searched out Neville as he walked to his trunk, and when he found him, their eyes immediately locked, both suddenly seeking assurance that last night was not, in fact, a dream. That they did have a godmother who had been mysteriously absent. That they had other family. That they were not alone.

Then Neville blinked, and they were back to their dorm room. Neville resumed pulling on his socks, while Harry quickly dressed in his uniform. Ron had already left for breakfast, and Dean and Seamus were packing their trunks, talking loudly.

Harry and Neville joined in, ribbing the others and laughing while they finished packing their own trunks. The four boys left for breakfast, talking animatedly as they took several shortcuts to the great hall. They emerged from a pathway in the Entrance Hall from behind a suit of armor, badly scaring some first years. Laughing the four passed the doorway of the Great Hall and sat at the closest empty seats they could find at the Gryffindor table, as usual ignoring the sneers directed their way from the Slytherins.

Harry sat in his preferred seat – with his back against the wall. Neville sat beside him, immediately reaching for the porridge, Harry added some bacon and eggs to his plate, before applying some jam to a piece of toast and pouring himself a goblet of milk. The four boys resumed talking, Dean and Seamus going in depth about their plans for the summer. That conversation eventually turned into raving about the Quidditch World Cup, which was just around the corner. Occasionally commenting, Harry and Neville, for the most part, stayed silent.

Suddenly, Harry felt a pair of eyes on his person, He paid no mind to the sensation at first, cutting up his bacon, but eventually he could not ignore it. He looked up, zeroing on the eyes immediately. He blinked.

They were the most amazing and brilliant sapphire blue eyes he had ever seen. Even from as far away as he sat, he could see past the walls in those eyes, right down to the emotions. Curiosity, intelligence, cunning, even a bit of sympathy… The pair of eyes widened and looked away. Harry took the opportunity to examine to rest of her.

The beautiful sapphire eyes were part of a delicate heart shaped face – pale skin, prominent cheekbones, full lips and a narrow nose. This face was framed by long, soft blond hair. Harry knew immediately who she was – the Slytherin Ice Queen. Daphne Greengrass.

"Harry!"

He frowned as he looked down the hall to see Ron and Hermione approach him. Ron had a grumpy expression on his face while Hermione had a scolding look on hers. She was, as per usual, carrying a large, heavy looking tome. "Where have you been?" she snapped as soon as she was within earshot. "We've been looking all over for you!"

Harry was about to snap back at her, but then he remembered Elena's words.

_Make sure that Ronald and Hermione are not aware._

He'd have to be tolerant of them. So, swallowing his original reply, he just blinked innocently. "I was right here." Hermione frowned but let it go. She sat down next to him and opened her book, while Ron took a seat on her other side and, predictably, started piling his plate with food and shoving it in his mouth.

For the rest of breakfast, Harry ate quietly while listening to the conversations around him. He stood up once he finished, noticing that Neville was done as well. Getting an idea, he impulsively asked him, "Would you like to join us in our carriage, Neville?" Ron frowned, and Hermione looked up at him disapprovingly. Harry ignored them, looking at Neville, whose face visibly brightened. He beamed at Harry and nodded.

* * *

**8:00am, 15****th**** June 1994**

The four found an empty compartment in the middle of the train. Once their trunks were situated along with Crookshanks' basket and Hedwig's empty cage in the overhead racks, they settled down. Harry took one window seat, and Neville claimed the other. Hermione sat at the sat closest to the door, while Ron took the opposite.

Neville and Harry looked out the window as the chatter of the other students as they boarded the train and looked for compartments, acutely aware of, and pretending to ignore the awkwardness that had permeated the compartment. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the train started.

"Harry! Let's play some chess!" Sighing internally, in frustration this time, Harry nodded and turned in his seat. Neville had pulled out a Herbology book and looked completely absorbed in it, while Hermione had her nose buried deep in her book.

The compartment remained quiet until about noon, when the sweets cart rolled around. Harry bought a Cauldron Cake and a Butterbeer. Neville bought a Pumpkin Pasty and some Chocolate Frogs while Hermione just looked at the cart with a disapproving gaze and scoffed, turning back to her book. Ron grabbed some of everything before he realized that he did not have enough money, and scowling, had to put most of it away.

Halfway through a game of Exploding Snap between Harry, Ron and Neville, the twins walked in.

"Oh, look, Gred, our little Ronniekins is exploding things!"

"Quite right, Forge, and he didn't invite us!"

The two looked at each other.

"Perhaps we should-"

"That would be going easy, Forge. Maybe-"

"Or we could-"

"Too simple. How about-"

"Of course not. Maybe we should…" The twins eyes gleamed as a mischievous grin spread across their faces. In sync, they both turned to look at Ron, whose ears and neck had gone red. But before he could do more than open his mouth, they were gone.

Hermione frowned after them. She strongly believed that it was time they stopped their pranks and their immaturity and grew up. Harry looked at her and strangely found himself thinking that she rather reminded him of Molly Weasley in that instant. It was a disturbing thought.

By the time evening rolled around, the boys had exhausted their ability to enjoy the explosions any more, and Harry and Ron were talking about the Quidditch World Cup. Or rather, Ron was doing most of the talking while Harry just listened with one ear. How did anyone get so obsessed with Quidditch that it became the most important thing in the world to them? Sure, he loved Quidditch, but his world by no means revolved around it.

When the train finally arrived at King's Cross, Harry tensed slightly, almost unnoticeable to anyone not looking at him at the moment. After unloading their trunks, Harry joined Ron as he searched for his mother.

The flaming Weasley hair was easy to spot. Harry followed behind Ron as he went to her, who, with a squeal of "Ronald!" was engulfed in one of Mrs. Weasley's famous hugs. Then she spotted Harry, hovering uncertainly behind Ron, and released Ron quickly. With a "Oh, Harry, dear," she embraced him as well, squeezing so tightly that he lost his breath. He gasped when she released him, and took a few steps behind as she turned to greet her daughter. He was promptly accosted by the twins, one on each side.

"Bye, Harry, we'll-"

"be seeing you-"

"extremely soon-"

"and remember-" Both twins leaned towards him and whispered in his ear perfectly in sync.

"_Always solemnly swear to be up to no good!_"

Harry blinked at the two, dazed, but once his brain processed everything they said, he grinned brightly at them.

After saying goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, and Percy, who had arrived and was smugly standing as his mother fawned over his (Oh Percy! Head Boy of the School!) Harry left the magical part of the station through the wall. On the Muggle side, he looked around and spotted Uncle Vernon, standing impatiently and tapping his foot.

There was no sign of Elena, and Harry's heart sank a little. He had hoped she would be there, to take him away from the Dursleys. It was a childish dream, he knew, but he had hoped nonetheless. Dejected, he started towards Uncle Vernon.

Harry did not notice the Bentley parked a small distance away from Vernon's car. He did not notice the young woman in the driver's seat with sunglasses and a hat, watching him with something akin to sorrow and concern.

* * *

**8:00pm, 15****th**** June 1994**

The Dursleys were in the living room. Harry had just started down the stairs for a late dinner, when the doorbell rang. He stopped where he was, wondering who would visit so late in a neighborhood like Privet Drive.

Vernon blustered and grumbled as he waddled to the front door. Petunia stood behind him at the living room doorway, while Dudley went off to the kitchen for something to eat.

Vernon prepared to yell at whoever stood at the door – after all, it must be those little brats who had been running around the neighborhood, selling useless things – but the jaw would not move when he saw who was standing in front of him.

Elena was dressed in a suit with a cashmere scarf wrapped around her neck. She looked beautiful, but more than that, she looked wealthy. But that is not why he stared at her. He stared at her because she looked almost exactly like the _boy's_ father.

Elena smiled. "Hello. My name is Elena Potter. May I come in?" Without waiting for an answer she walked into the house, looking around. Then she looked up at where Harry was standing frozen, and winked. He grinned at her. She looked at Petunia and grinned a predatory grin, nodding towards the living room. "Shall we?"

* * *

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	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer - Harry Potter is not mine. WHY? sob**

**Enjoy!**

**Love of An Aunt**

**A Harry Potter Fanfiction**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**8:30, 15****th**** June 1994**

Elena was going to have a long day.

With the reparations that the elves were intent on completing as soon as possible, it was impossible for her to sleep past 6am. Groaning, she had gotten out of bed and padded to the bathroom, wearing white fluffy slippers she had bought on a shopping trip to the Muggle world.

Half an hour later, her heels clicked on the marble floor as she walked into the dining room heading for her seat at the head of the table. She ate a simple breakfast while reviewing her schedule. Then, she was off.

She apparated to a small townhouse in London she had bought, taking a small bag of clothes with her. Storing them in the room she had claimed as her own she went to the car she kept in the garage – a 1993 Bentley Brooklands.

Her first destination for the day was Rochester Enterprises, a firm of agents that the Potters owned. After she took control of the Potter estate, she had pored over the reports of the companies in the magical world that the Potters owned or held an interest in (provided by Gringotts), while trying to plan an approach towards the Muggle companies.

Eventually she had decided to get audits done for every company before she visited them all, one at a time. Rochester was the last company to visit for a while, since Harry would soon be home, and then they would have to tackle other problems – like getting Sirius pardoned.

With the radio on, her mind drifted to later in the evening – getting Harry away from the walrus, horse and whale. She glanced at the black briefcase sitting innocently in the backseat. It had everything needed to "persuade" the Dursleys. She smirked mischievously.

She reached the offices of Rochester Enterprises by 8:30, and after showing her identification, was led to a conference room where she was sat at the first seat on the right. She made herself comfortable, knowing her backside would be more or less parked there for the next four hours.

The director of the firm Mr. Rochester, joined her in the conference room a few minutes before the meetings were due to start explaining how it would be done. "These meetings, as I'm sure you must have anticipated, will be long. There are four departments, and each departments will take almost an hour to deal with. First we have the I.T. department, followed by the administration department, followed by the PR department. Lastly, we will meet with the ten agents this firm has each of whom represent five clients. Unless, you want to meet with the secretaries as well?"

Elena smiled politely. She had taken note of the man's wandering eye, subtle as he was, and had no intentions to lead him on. She had neither the time, nor the inclination. "I'm sure you can deal with them, Mr. Rochester, But I do want a copy of their files as well," she replied.

Mr. Rochester smiled at her. "Absolutely. Whatever you need." With a murmured "thank you," Elena took the files of the I.T. department members that one of the secretaries handed to her.

Both the I.T. and administrative departments were easily dealt with. Almost all the employees there were good and honest people. Three men and one woman had a drinking problem, and were given six months to clean up, or they would be fired. Two men and three woman with a smoking problem were given the same ultimatum, and were encouraged to attend counseling, with the first four sessions being sponsored by the office. One man from administration with a drug habit was asked to stay behind. As the rest cleared out, Elena went through his file, refreshing her memory on his case.

When Mr. Rochester was the only other person in the office, Elena stood up and approached the man. His name was Rickard Axel, and he had joined the company two years ago, straight out of his senior year at the University of Manchester, where he was third in his class. He was described as having a zeal for life, often taking short trips on weekends to hike, fist, etc. These trips had stopped two months back, when he had gotten into a car accident, and since then he was suspected to have been taking drugs. His performance had also been noted to have been steadily decreasing. There was a brief mention of a fiancée, though not in detail.

Looking at Axel now, Elena could not see any of that _zeal_ for life that the file described. The man in front of her had his eyes down and his head bent, almost as though he had given up on life. Elena took a seat next to him. "Rickard, would you look at me, please?" He had his eyes closed and there was an expression of deep, heart wrenching pain on his face. Elena's mind suddenly connected the dots.

"You lost your fiancée, didn't you?" He looked at her, his face full of shock and pain. Mr. Rochester, she noted from the corner of her eye, also seemed surprised she had come to that conclusion. She paid his no mind, focusing on Axel.

"How did you know?" He croaked, his voice heavy with pent up emotion.

Elena didn't answer. "You must have loved her very much." His eyes filled with tears he tried to blink back. Elena looked at Mr. Rochester and nodded towards the door. He frowned, but compiled, closing the door on his way out. Elena looked back at Axel and said, "She died in that car accident, didn't she?" He just nodded. She sighed. "I understand what you're going through, but-"

"You have no idea what I'm going through," he exploded. "I've been through so much in the last few months-"

Elena sat up straight. "You've been through so much? Mr. Axel," she emphasized. He looked at her. "My brother and I lost our parents not even a month after he got married, thanks to the actions of a madman. Three years later, I lost my brother and his wife, thanks to the same madman who murdered my parents. Their son, my godson, barely survived the attack. And the next day, I got into an accident that left me with amnesia for close to twelve and a half years. I finally get my memory back only to find out that my nephew had been mistreated by his guardians. My other godson's parents are permanently incapacitated, and my cousin is in a high security prison for a crime he didn't commit. All this has happened to me, but you don't see me taking drugs getting high just to live!"

The man sitting next to her just stared, at a loss for words.

Elena had Mr. Rochester called in, and once he sat down, wrote on a notepad. "I want you to check in to a rehab facility. You can work from there, and you will, of course, be paid. Six months later, or at the most a year I want you back in this office, living once again. Remember this, Mr. Axel," her voice softened considerably. "The Lord only tests those who have the strength to deal with it."

Axel looked at her with hope.

* * *

**1:00pm, 15****th**** June 1994**

Using a glamour on herself to look like an everyday witch, Elena entered the Leaky Cauldron for lunch with Augusta Longbottom, who had become like a mentor to her. Meeting her in a private sitting room, the two woman embraced.

When Tom entered with lunch, they were sitting on the armchairs near the window, making small talk. After he closed the door, the two stood up, Augusta making her way to the table while Elena warded to room securely, using family magic exclusive to Potters.

"So," Augusta started, "how will you tell the boys? That is," she pressed when she saw Elena grimace, "after all, the most important topic at this moment."

Elena smiled grimly, looking up from her stew. "I don't really want to tell them. I am aware that they need to know, and I will tell them," she reassured when she saw Augusta open her mouth to protest, "but their view of the world will change entirely. They have known enough cruelty already – Harry with what happened to James and Lily, and then the way he was treated at the Dursleys, and Neville with what happened to Frank and Alice." She bit the inside of her cheek. "This will haunt them both – because of an old man with delusions, and a man gone mad with power; they lost almost everyone who would have made sure they were safe and happy. And they were manipulated as well. Finding all this out gave me the creeps – how do you think they will feel?"

Augusta said nothing; they were, after all, her concerns as well.

* * *

**7:30 pm, 15****th**** June 1994**

Elena, from behind the wheel of the Bentley, watched as Harry trailed behind the walrus, his shoulders hunched and his stride uneven.

She drove her car a little behind Dursley, giving his no reason to think they were being followed. Due to the nature of the wards Dumbledore had put up on the house, the only way to know where it was was to trail behind Harry. Upon reaching Privet Drive (what sort of a place was this? She would be willing to bet a house that the people living in such a 'perfect' neighbourhood would be some of the most dysfunctional people she would ever have the misfortune to meet) she waited until they entered the house, then Disillusioned herself. Leaving the car at a distance, she walked to No.4, and using a few drops of her blood, gained entry into the house without alerting the Ministry or Dumbledore.

She then walked back to the car, used a Switching Spell to change into the suit she had laying on the backseat. She then drove the car into the neighbourhood, parking it in front of No. 4. Grabbing the briefcase from the backseat, she looked at herself in the rearview mirror. "Don't screw this up, Elena." Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car.

Walking down the pathway, she admired the roses that she knew were due to Harry's hard work. She stood in front of the door and rang the doorbell.

Vernon Dursley opened the door and stared. Elena smiled. "Hello! My name is Elena Potter. May I come in?" Not waiting for an answer, she entered the door. Petunia stood by the entrance to the dining room, staring stupidly. Dudley was nowhere to be seen, but the sounds of the television could be heard from the kitchen, so that is where she assumed he was. Harry stood at the top of the stairs. She winked at him, and he grinned back. She turned back to the two standing near her, gesturing to the living room. "Shall we?"

Petunias just nodded and lead the way, still seemingly in shock. Vernon, on the other hand, was starting to bluster, but a sharp look from Elena was enough to stop him in his tracks. Elena sat down in an armchair without invitation and looked at Petunia. "Do ask Harry to join us here."

Petunia glared at her, her jaw clenched shut, but stood straight and marched out of the room. Her shrill voice was piercing to the ears. "Boy! Get down here now!" She returned back to the living room and was met with a fierce glare. She flinched, but marched resolutely on towards the couch and sat down, crossing her arms. Vernon followed her lead, sitting beside her.

Soft footsteps could be heard climbing down the stairs. Harry appeared in the doorway. Elena stood up. "Join me in the entrance for a moment, Harry."

Harry backed out of the room, looking confused. Elena put a hand on his shoulder and whispered softly, "Harry, you need to know that you _are_ coming with me tonight." Harry's eyes widened and there was visible hope growing the emeralds that were his eyes. "I am taking you away from here, Harry. You are coming home."

The thirteen year old's face split into such a wide grin that Elena feared his face would split into two. She smiled back happily.

Then she sighed and nodded towards the living room. "Shall we?"Harry nodded, and together, the two Potters entered the battlefield. Elena sat in the armchair, motioning Harry into the other one.

For a few minutes, the Dursleys and Elena stared at each other, before the latter broke the silence. "When I was recently going through the records of my estate, particularly the bank accounts, I noticed a lot of inconsistencies – amounts which didn't add up, unauthorized withdrawals, etc. So I had the bank launch an investigation. This," she removed a file from the briefcase she had set on the ground, passing it to Petunia, who took it with a trembling hand, "is what they found."

Going by the looks on Vernon's and Petunia's faces, they knew exactly what she was talking about. Harry, on the other hand, clearly didn't. So Elena explained it to him, glaring at the idiots sitting in front of her, "Harry, your aunt and uncle were receiving 2000 pounds a year to take care of you. For your expenses only, Harry." Realization struck Harry, whose heart sank.

But there was also a red hot anger burning through him. How dare they! How many times had they complained about the additional expenses because of him? And all this time, they were getting paid?

"So where did all this money go Mr. Dursley?" Elena asked calmly, keeping the raging inferno inside her under control.

"We – we needed the money," Vernon spoke up, obviously building himself up. "it was spent on much better things than on the ungrateful freak!" Petunia's eyes widened, and she tried to stop her husband from saying more, but Vernon was on a roll. "We are good, deserving people, and we didn't want the freak anyway, but that old man wouldn't take him back, and wouldn't let us give him to an orphanage where he belonged-"

"_Enough_," Elena's voice was so quiet it was deadly. She stood up. There was a powerful, almost visible aura around her, and suddenly, Vernon Dursley was afraid of this woman. Very afraid.

"Good, deserving people? You mistreated my nephew, _your _nephew so badly just because you were jealous. Yes, Harry," she looked at the incredulous boy, "Petunia Dursley was jealous, because her little sister got magic, and she didn't. Eventually that jealousy turned to hatred, and that hatred transferred from her little sister to her one-year-old son, who had just lost his parents and had no idea what was going on, except that his mum and dad were nowhere to be seen." Petunia had tears pouring down her cheeks, but Elena felt no sympathy. She took out another file from her briefcase, removed some papers, and with a pen, thrust them towards Petunia. "Sign here."

With a shaking hand, the Dursley woman did as instructed. Elena took them back. She turned to Harry. "I believe it is time for us to leave, Harry. Will you bring your trunk down?" Harry nodded and left the room.

Within ten minutes, the two remaining Potters had left No.4, Privet Drive, the wards shattering as Harry crossed the threshold. After storing his luggage and Hedwig's cage in the trunk, he climbed into the passenger seat with a smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer - Ah, the things I would do if I owned Harry Potter... Alas, it is not to be :( Elena, however, is mine. (Stay away from her!)**

**AN - I have to apologize. Not only did I not upload for ages, it turns out, I also made a mistake. By now, some of you are no doubt aware that I was going to make Elena the future Lady Black (aka Sirius' future wife). Then, I happened to check out the Black family tree, and found out that they are, in fact, related (I did know Dorea was a Black, but I didn't realize it was so close) And immediately cancelled the pairing. So, my apologies. Though this does give me the opportunity to add in even more OCs, so I don't really mind. Enjoy!**

**Love of An Aunt**

**A Harry Potter Fanfiction **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**8:07 pm, 15****th**** June 1994**

Elena and Harry sat in the car in silence for a few minutes, Harry watching the familiar neighborhood pass by him, now a part of his past. His thoughts rotated between joy (he was finally away from the Dursleys!) to some concern (how will things be with his new aunt?) to happiness (he'd finally be living with someone who cared) to hope (he hoped things would be different) and back again.

Elena looked at him. "Breathe, Harry," she said soothingly.

He turned in his seat to look at her. "Are the Dursleys going to get away for everything they've done?" His face showed anger at the thought.

She smirked. "Take the briefcase from the back and open it." Harry did as instructed, very curious and a little worried by the smirk on the elder's face. "Take out the green file and see what's inside."

"What are these?"

"These," Elena's voice was positively evil, "are proof that Vernon Dursley has been stealing money from his workplace, and been taking bribes. Copies of those have already been sent in the mail – one to the Dursleys and the other to Mr. Grunnings, the director of Grunnings Inc." Harry's eyes were wide with astonishment.

But Elena was not done just yet. "Now, what do the Dursleys treasure the most of all?" Harry blinked, but she was on a roll. "Their social status as 'normal'. So, of course, when an article is printed in the newspaper the day after, copies will be sent to all the neighbors," Elena was positively giddy. "On top of that, Vernon will be fired, and probably taken to court, and he will have to return the money. So they will have to mortgage the house to pay off the debt, which will land them into further debt. And I may just hire a few people to mess around the house – say, tweak the plumbing, or mess with the dishes… just _small_ things like that." Harry was laughing so loud, he could barely breathe.

Elena grinned. It was nice to hear him sound so carefree.

It took Harry a while to stop laughing and catch his breath, but even after, his eyes were noticeably brighter. He also looked more relaxed. "Where are we going?"

"There is a small townhouse in Grosvenor Square, London. I bought it about a month or so back. We'll be staying the night there. I sent an owl to Remus, and got him to bring someone else you'd like to see again. Tomorrow after breakfast, all of us go home."She smiled softly.

"Where is home?"

"A beautiful place you'll find out tomorrow. I'd tell you right now, but I want you to have the whole effect when you first see it. Tomorrow," she assured seeing his slightly worried look, "you'll love it, I promise."

The remainder of the drive was mostly silent. The entire day had been exhausting for Harry, who was now asleep. Elena parked the Bentley back in the garage and got out, flicking a switch to close the garage gate. She then walked to the passenger side and opened the door, smiling at Harry's innocent face in sleep. After a moment though, she shook him softly.

Harry awoke with a start and looked around, trying to figure out where he was. Realizing that he was still in the car, and also feeling Elena's hand on his shoulder, he calmed down and adjusted his glasses before looking up at his aunt blearily. She just grinned and held a finger to her lips, motioning to be silent. He nodded, confused, and stepped out of the car. He made to turn back to get his trunk, but Elena shook her head and motioned to follow her silently. The two crept into the house quietly, leaving the door open.

Upon entering the foyer, Harry could hear sounds of a low conversation from the direction of the living room. Removing his wand, he looked in alarm at Elena, who merely grinned, but also removed her wand. Winking at him, she moved silently to the doorway.

Remus and Sirius were sitting in armchairs facing the empty fireplace. Both were silent, staring at the grates contemplating, though Sirius kept tapping his leg. A nervous tick he could not get rid of.

For a moment, she stared at him, comparing him to the Sirius she knew twelve years ago. He'd taken a shower, and changed into clean clothes, which from the looks of them, looked like they belonged to Remus. His hair was longer, and the curls looked clean, though they had lost their shine. His face looked gaunt, and his cheeks we're hollow. The sleeves of his robe had been rolled back, exposing his bony arms. She frowned for a moment, blinking repeatedly to clear the moisture from her eyes. Then she took aim, and quickly cast four wordless spells, two for each man.

As soon as the spells hit, the two sprung from their seats, wands pointed out at each other, and cast.

"Tarrantulanga!"

"Levicorpus!"

Then Elena's spells tool effect. She grinned broadly, standing a little away from the doorway. Sirius' precious hair had turned into a neon pink Afro, and though he didn't know it yet, his voice had been changed to one of a four year old girl's. And, as Remus' spell had hit, he was also handing upside down by his ankle (thankfully, he was wearing pants). Sirius' jinx, however, had missed Remus, who had a red clown nose, and his voice was now a bleat.

"What the bloody hell..." Sirius started, before shrieking, "Ah! My voice!" His hands clutched his throat as he turned wide eyes on Remus, not daring to speak more. Remus opened his mouth. "Maaa!"

As the two men turned to each other, one shocked and worried, and the other grimacing (he knew who was at fault here) Elena turned to Harry, who hand his hand clamped over his mouth in an effort not to laugh. Biting her lip as well, she beckoned him forward and into the room.

"Harry!" shouted Sirius happily as soon as he saw his godson, momentarily forgetting his voice problems. He clapped his hands over his mouth, but Harry had burst out laughing. Sirius, whose face was becoming steadily redder by the minute, let out a 'growl' that sounded more like a squeak, making Harry fall to the floor from laughing so hard, and Remus braying like a goat, as he too, clutched his stomach and had a hearty laugh.

Laughing softly herself, Elena pointed her wand at Sirius. "Liberacorpus!"

The squeal that Sirius gave as he fell to the ground was so high pitched, even Elena snickered. Remus had joined Harry on the ground. Both were out of breath and gasping from how hard they were laughing. After grinning at them, Elena looked at Sirius.

To find him looking straight back at her.

His beautiful grey eyes were filled with shock and love and...was that a bit of fear?

The grin on Elena's face turned into a hesitant smile as her eyes locked with his. There were a million emotions running through his eyes, and Elena knew she was the same. Without even realizing it, the two closed the distance between them. Without knowing how, Elena was encompassed in Sirius' arms, her face buried in his chest, and his in her hair. Her hands were clenched into fists on his chest, pulling at his robe as his arms we're wrapped around her so tightly she could barely breathe, not that she really minded. Elena breathed him in deeply, re-familiarizing herself with his scent - he smelled like home to her.

Sometime later she loosened her hands, carding one through his hair as she recognized his need for comfort. Bracing herself as he sagged a little, she slowly lowered them both onto their knees. He leaned heavily into her, finally feeling safety in the comfort of her arms. He clung to her as his body shook - not with tears, but with emotion that had been forced deep down inside.

How long they stayed like this, Elena didn't know. She just held the trembling man, running one hand through his hair and rubbing his back with the other, whispering in his ear, "I'm here. I'm right here."

After a long time she slowly loosened his hold on her, standing up and helping him stand up. With a whispered, "come," she led him to his room and sat him on the bed. He sat silently, looking at her as she stood in front of him.

"I'll be right back" she whispered softly. Sirius nodded a little and Elena left the room in search of her pseudo brother and her nephew.

* * *

**11:23pm, 15****th**** June 1994**

Harry and Remus were in the kitchen. Harry was absently sipping a Butterbeer, while Remus had settled for a cup of tea. Elena watched from the doorway, before she moved in, heading straight for the alcohol cabinet, where her hand hovered over a bottle of vodka for a moment, before eventually moving to the Firewhiskey. Summoning a shot glass, she sat at the table across Harry and downed a shot , clinking the glass back down on the table with a _thud_. Sighing, she looked at Harry, who was staring at her with curiosity etched all over his features. "Ask away."

"What was that?" Harry burst out. "How do you know Sirius?"

Elena chuckled. "Harry, I am a Marauder. And I've known Sirius since I was born; he is, after all, my cousin."

Harry blinked. "Oh."

"Yeah…" Elena looked longingly at the Firewhiskey, before giving in to temptation and pouring another shot and quickly swallowing it before she banished the bottle back to the cabinet. She sighed again, before standing up. "Come on. It's almost midnight, and we have to leave here by 9 am. There are three bedrooms upstairs, one for each of you. I think Sirius and Remus have already chosen their rooms, Harry, so the third one is yours. Don't bother unpacking," she added, as they climbed the stairs, "there's no point."

After Harry and Remus had settled in, Elena returned to Sirius' room. He was sitting on the bed, his back to the door. He was also bent over, holding his face in his hands. Tears pooled in Elena's eyes at the sight, but she blinked them back. "Sirius?"

He lifted his head, turning it slightly in her direction as she entered the room and headed straight for him. The look in his eyes was so… broken, that Elena felt her own heart breaking. She ran her hand through his hair. "It's time to sleep, Padfoot."

Sirius just nodded his head and lay down under the covers. Elena, in a sudden sisterly moment, tucked him in and kissed his forehead before she left the room. After quickly checking on Harry, she retired to her room and leaned back against the closed door. A tear slid down her cheek.

* * *

**07:58 am, 16****th**** June 1994**

She laughed; he found himself enchanted. His emerald green eyes locked with her sapphire blue ones, and the rest of the world disappeared, leaving just the two of them behind. They slowly leaned towards each other, never breaking eye contact; their faces tilted slightly. Their foreheads touched; their noses touched…

Knock.

Harry jerked upright as and gasped; he had been so close to kissing her! Wait, what the bloody hell, he was having dreams about snogging Daphne Greengrass now? Why did he even-

Knock knock-knock.

"Yes?" He called out, his voice hoarse.

"It's me, pup," Sirius' voice replied, making Harry suddenly grin at the 'pup'.

"What is it?" He groaned as he opened the door. A broad grin stretched across Sirius' face when he saw the state his godson was in. Harry's eyes widened when he noticed the grin, turning beet red and slamming the door. Sirius' chuckles rang through.

"Get dressed and come down for breakfast, Harry. Elena's cooking," he said and then his footsteps could be heard thumping down the staircase. Harry blew out a breath and turned to the washroom.

It was to loud laughter that Harry came downstairs to. Elena's laughter, that is. He entered the kitchen to a bizarre sight - Sirius had his head down on the table, Remus was grimacing, and Elena was standing by the stove, laughing. She held a spatula in one hand, which was pointing at the two men. Bacon was sizzling in the pan on the stove in front of her.

Once she calmed down, she noticed him standing there and said, "Good morning, Harry. How did you sleep? Breakfast?"

"I slept well, thank you. And I'll have some bacon, eggs and toast?" He phrased the sentence as a question, which made Elena frown lightly as she plated his food for him, also loading another plate for herself. Joining the three males at the table, she slid the plate in front of him while simantaneously summoning a glass of orange juice for him. "I don't keep pumpkin juice," she said apologetically.

Harry just grinned back. "I don't like pumpkin juice anyway."

Sirius was busy eating and muttering things under his breath. Remus, who was sitting beside him and had clearly heard him, smacked the back of his head. "Ow!"

"There is absolutely no need to call Sly that," he admonished lightly.

Sirius muttered, "Yes, there is," the same time as Harry questioned, "Sly?"

Elena, ignoring Sirius, replied to Harry, "My Marauder nickname is Sly. Lils never really had a nickname because she joined in their seventh year, and by that time the Map was made and all of us were Animagus and all that jazz..."

"Why Sly?"

Sirius snickered, "That rhymed." He got another smack to his head. "Ow! Bloody hell, Moony!"

"Because of my form, of course. I'll show you after we're finished with breakfast."

"Oh, okay." Harry looked disappointed before his face cleared. "So where are we going today?"

Elena smiled fondly. "Home, Harry. This house," she vaguely gestured around her with her fork, "as lovely as it is, is more of a pit stop, and it acts as my address for any Muggle business I have. This house has next to no magical items; even the only Floo connection in the house is upstairs. This is normally where I entertain any non-magical guests since I can barely invite them home without breaking the Statuette of Secrecy." She rolled her eyes.

Harry blinked, but before he could say anything, Sirius interjected, apparently having gotten over pouting. "So, pup, it's time to talk about something very important." He said it with such intensity that even Remus looked up from the Prophet he had been reading and furrowed his eyebrows. "Which Quidditch team do you support?"

Remus snorted, but both Sirius and Elena looked at Harry pointedly. Hesitantly, he said, "the Falmouth Falcons?" He jumped when Sirius slammed his hands on the table while Elena scowled.

"Sirius!" Remus shouted, as he watched his newspaper soaking up his cup of tea. He was ignored in favour of Sirius' smug gloating.

Elena scowled at him and turned to Harry. "As you probably have already realised, Padfoot supports the Falcons. I, on the other hand, am a staunch supporter of the Pride of Portree. Champions of the league!" She pumped her fist slightly. Remus just groaned.

Sirius turned to Harry with a sheepish look. "Quidditch in this family is kind of an obsession. And since Moony is not a fan, he finds it very..."

"Irritating. Annoying. Tiring. Exasperating." Remus supplied.

"All that," Sirius agreed, "whenever we bring up the topic."

"It's half past nine," Elena said. She magicked all the utensils to the sink, where they started washing themselves. "Harry, please check that all your things are in your trunk. Leave the trunk in the room itself, a house elf will collect it later. Sirius, Remus, pack up your rooms as well. We leave in fifteen minutes." Her heels clicked on the floor as she left the three behind.

Fifteen minutes later, the same three stood in the entry way as they waited for Elena. Stepping out and closing the door with a small bag in hand, she blinked when she saw them standing quietly, looking at her. She raised her eyebrow at them, causing all three to look away uncomfortably. "Shall we?" she murmured, distinctly amused.

From her pocket, she removed a tennis ball and pointed her wand at it, "Portus," she softly murmured. The ball briefly glowed blue, and she held it out. Sirius and Remus immediately touched a finger to it, and Harry followed their lead, looking at the ball apprehensively. Elena looked at him and winked. "Prongs," she said, and then they all got sucked into a vortex.

The Portkey reminded Harry of the Floo. Trying to tuck his hands in his pockets, he absently wondered if all forms of magical travel were this uncomfortable. Then he fell to the ground.

He blinked, dazed. Sirius moved into his line of vision, holding a hand out to him. Harry took it and stood up, looking around. "Where are we?"

Elena shushed him before taking him by the shoulders and gently turning him around.

In front of him was a small pedestal, made of stone. There was a small hole of sorts in the center of the circular top. He stepped forward for a closer look. Elena moved to stand beside him.

"Harry," she said gently, "I'm going to need a few drops of your blood."

"What? Why?"

"It's so the wards will recognise you. You will get their full protection. And the wards on this place," she motioned behind the pedestal, where there was nothing but empty space, "may not be as old, but they certainly are as powerful as the wards on Hogwarts. Maybe even more so," she shrugged.

"Alright," Harry nodded. Elena made a small cut on his pointer finger of his right hand and hovered the cut right over the hole, and the two Potters watched as drops of blood trickled down the hole. There was a small flash of light, and Harry felt a feathery feeling sweep him from head to toe. "Look," Elena whispered, pointing in front of them.

In front of them was a majestic castle gleaming in the morning sun. It was about five storeys tall, with two towers reaching even higher. Smaller than Hogwarts, but he could not deny the instant feeling of _home_ that he felt as soon as he laid eyes on it.

"Welcome to Potter Manor, Harry. Welcome home." Elena murmured.

* * *

**Let me know what you think! :)**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer - As of this point of time, the only things that belong to me in this story are Elena and the plot. Any way I can get the rest?**

**AN - I had originally planned something very different here, but then the new Pottermore was released and I immediately realized I had a lot of changes to make. The Potter family tree is taken from Pottermore, and thus was all J.K. Rowling, not me (though I did omit and change some parts)... Anyways, enjoy!**

**Love of an Aunt**

**A Harry Potter Fanfiction**

* * *

**Chapter 5 **

**10:00 am, 16th June 1994**

Elena grinned at the look on Harry's face - a look of wonder and astonishment that made her smile. Her godson might have been through a lot, but he remained innocent to many things in the world. Her smile faded a little at that - too many people had taken advantage of that innocence.

Sirius had a look of happiness on his face. Potter Manor had been his home since the summer before his 6th year. He had been as much a part of the family as the rest of them, and had felt the loss of their parents just as keenly as she and James had.

Remus seemed like he was about to say something, most likely something self-deprecating. Sensing this, Elena sent him a stern look that made him click his mouth shut, lest he find himself in mortal danger.

After a few minutes, she lightly placed her hand on Harry's shoulder. "Let's get inside, shall we?" Once Harry nodded, Elena placed her hand on the large gates that had appeared in front of them. They immediately swung open. The four entered, and once they had passed through, shut behind them with a loud 'clang'. A carriage similar to the ones at Hogwarts immediately materialized in front of them. They climbed in, and Harry admired the sights as they passed through the large grounds - there was grass and flowers everywhere, except one corner where he could see two glass houses. He recognized them as greenhouses and idly thought of Neville, their Herbology expert.

Harry started a little when the carriage came to a stop. He looked up at the towering castle in front of him. They descended and he gazed around as they climbed the front steps, making Elena smile at him. "Harry?" She gestured to the large doors they were standing in front of. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Harry's eyes widened a little and he nodded, and when Elena, Sirius and Remus all grinned at him encouragingly, he took a step forward and put his palms against the doors to push them open. He sucked in a breath as they opened as soon as he made contact. Getting a warm, welcoming feeling, he stepped inside and looked around.

Simply put, the Entrance Hall was long and straight. There were doors everywhere - small ones to his right, and two large sets of double doors on his left, and one set of double doors on the opposite wall. In front of the corner between the left and front walls was a sweeping staircase that narrowed as it went higher. Looking up, he could see all the way to the glass terrace through two rectangles. Sunlight softly poured in, giving the entire Entrance Hall a soft, warm glow. Small tables were casually, but with precision spread around the hall, and all had vases that contained flowers Harry recognized from the grounds.

The youngest Potter could only let out one word. "Wow!"

From behind him, Elena grinned and called out, "Trixy!"

Pop!

A house elf appeared in front of the four, startling Harry into jumping with an alarmed look at his face. Elena bit her tongue to keep from laughing, and addressed her favorite elf, "Trix, you remember Sirius and Remus?"

"Master Black! Master Lupin! Trixy is happy to see you again!" Her squeaky voice sounded surprised, but happy.

Elena grinned, wrapping her arm around Harry's shoulder and bringing him forward, "and this is James' son, Harry."

Trixy's eyes widened considerably. "Master Harry! Master Harry is back!"

Harry blinked, not sure how to react. He looked up at Elena, and receiving a nod from her, put his hand forward. "Hello, Trixy."

Trixy's large eyes widened furthur, but she put her hand forward and shook his. "Trixy is very happy that Master Harry is safe, and home. For many years, Trixy did not know where Master Harry was. Trixy being scared something happened to Master Harry."

Harry looked at Elena with wide eyes. Understanding his panicked look, she turned to Trixy. "Trixy, Harry will need a personal house elf, so I will leave it to you to select someone. Let me know later who- yes, Harry?" Her young godson had tapped her lightly on the shoulder, with a hesitant look on his young face.

"Er...I actually had an elf in mind, but I don't know if he'll be willing to..." Harry looked nervous, sure that Elena would reject his idea. Surprising him, she nodded and asked him to call the elf.

"Dobby!"

Pop!

"The Great Harry Potter Sir is calling for Dobby! Dobby is honored that Mr. Harry Potter Sir is calling for Dobby!"

Harry smiled at his young elfish friend. "Hello Dobby. How are you?" He was startled when Dobby burst into tears.

"The Great Harry Potter Sir is asking how Dobby is! No wizard is ever doing this to Dobby! Not even Dobby's bad masters!"

Alarmed, Harry looked around, only to meet three highly amused faces. He sent a pleading look as he tried to calm Dobby down. Elena, taking pity on him, motioned to be introduced to him. "Dobby," he said, "this is my aunt, Elena Potter, my godfather, Sirius Black and my..." He hesitated, searching for the right word to describe Moony, "uncle, Remus Lupin," he finally settled on. Having his back to the other three, he missed the look of astonishment on Remus' face.

Elena stepped forward a little and got down to her knees next to Harry. "Hello, Dobby," she said warmly, offering her hand to the little creature to shake. Dobby looked at it with wide eyes, before putting his skinny one in hers. She held his little hand with both of hers.

"Dobby, Harry called you here because I wanted to ask you something."

Dobby's eyes widened in anticipation.

"Now that Harry has come home, he will be living here whenever he is not at Hogwarts. And over here, in this house, every Potter has a personal house elf." Dobby looked more excited the more Elena spoke. "And Harry needs one. So, Dobby, will you consent to becoming Harry's personal house elf?"

Dobby was bouncing. "Dobby be honored to be Mr. Harry Potter Sir's house elf."

Harry smiled, relieved. He looked at Elena, "How do we do this?"

Elena told him to just put his right hand on Dobby's head. Harry did so, and then repeated after Elena. "I, Harry James Potter, choose to accept Dobby as my house elf."

Dobby was bouncing happily. "Dobby is now house elf to Master Harry Potter! Dobby be so happy!"

Elena could not help but grin at the enthusiastic elf. "Dobby, now that you are Harry's elf, you are also a Potter elf. So I want you to go with Trixy here, who is Head House Elf of all Potter elves. She'll explain everything to you."

Dobby nodded his head eagerly. "Dobby will go with Trixy, Master Harry Potter's Aunt." Elena chuckled. "Anyways, Trixy, send Affie to the London house to pick up their trunks and my bag, and ask Berry to make sure that the rooms on the family floor and Sirius' and Remus' rooms are in order."

"Yes, Mistress Elena," Trixy bowed her head respectfully.

"Just Elena, Trix," she reminded her fondly.

"Yes, Mistress."

Elena openly laughed as the two elves popped away. Harry was back to looking around the hall. With furrowed eyebrows, Elena suddenly remembered the two pranksters she was standing in front of, and also noticed that they were far to quiet for her liking. Turning around, she raised an eyebrow as she recognised the signs of a _Muffliato_. Waving her wand, she dispelled the spell just to hear the tail end of the conversation. "...from the chandelier. We could definitely get Sly with that." Raising both eyebrows this time, Elena silently recast the spell, which went up without notice of the two. She turned back to Harry. "So, Harry, how about I show you around?"

Harry nodded, and with a wink, she turned around facing the two men and sent a tickling hex at Sirius. Leaving Remus to deal with the laughing lunatic, she guided Harry to the left side of the hall, pointing towards the small door wedged in the corner.

"This is the cloak room. If we have guests, their cloaks will be stored inside. And this," she motioned to the first set of double doors, "is a…I believe we can call it a… socializing room? There is no official name for it," she shrugged as she opened the door and let them through. It was decorated in a soft off white, set off with peach. "Guests, and here I'm talking about a ball, Harry," she added, "tend to come here in this room when the ballroom gets too crowded. The balcony is right there for a breath of fresh air… Ugh! I sound like an actual boring tour guide!" Elena exclaimed, scrunching up her face. Harry snickered.

Elena narrowed her eyes at him, but amusement was visible all over her face. "Anyways, these over here," she motioned to two sets of smaller double doors inside the room on the right wall, "lead to the ballroom." She opened one of the doors. Harry gasped.

The peach colored quartz floor gleamed in the soft light, with small trickles of green and blue running through. The ceiling was painted a soft cream with quartz candleholders hanging gracefully. The walls were a very light peach, subtly showing off the cream swirls that stood out. Harry softly traced one of them, his face reflecting the wonder in front of him. To his left, the entire wall was made of glass, with glass doors situated in the middle, leading out to a large balcony. He could see straight out to the lake outside, and the green hills in the horizon, and the forest near the bed of the lake, and…

"It looks beautiful, doesn't it?" Elena whispered, almost as if she was afraid of spoiling the moment. He nodded, mesmerized. She smiled, "I'll bring you back here during sunset, Harry. That is when you will see the whole beauty of this amazing room." With difficulty, he tore his eyes from the view and looked at Elena. She smiled, amused and wistful, and nodded.

"Anyways," she continued in a normal tone, gesturing to the doors on the opposite wall. "These lead out to the Entrance Hall, and that," she pointed to the stairs that seemed to start just a few feet below the ceiling, "was so that the guests of honor at a ball, normally a Potter," she winked, "could make a dramatic entrance. On top of the stairs is a small door that can only be opened from the inside. There is a small hidden staircase behind it so that no one sees you beforehand…" Her eyes were suddenly filled with wistfulness and grief.

"What's wrong?" The words slipped out of Harry's mouth before his brain could process it. He didn't know why, but suddenly he wanted to that sadness to leave her eyes.

"My first ball," she answered softly. "Or at least, what should have been my first ball. James would have escorted me down the stairs where mum and dad would be waiting, and I'd dance with dad first, then James…" She trailed off softly, her eyes watery.

A few moments later, she smiled with a touch of bitterness and pointed to another door that was further along the right wall. "That door," she cleared her throat, "goes on to the formal dining room. On a normal basis, we don't use this one – too formal. There is another dining room, an informal one that we use when it is just family, so we will be using that one… And then we go back to the Entrance Hall," she remarked as she led him back out through the other set of double doors located on the right wall of the Formal Dining Room.

Harry gaped a little when he saw that Sirius and Remus were still standing there, whispering to each other. Elena just shook her head and turned to Harry, motioning for him to be silent as Elena silently waltzed towards and up the staircase, Harry following her quietly, though occasionally stealing glances at the two.

When they got to the second floor, Elena turned around and looked at Harry. "Okay, first, you should know – This is the second floor, where the studies and the sitting rooms are located. The third floor is where all the family rooms are, and the fourth has the guest rooms. Since Sirius and Remus are the only ones there, I'm going to just point out their rooms - skip the rest. That way," she turned her head to look at him as she led him through the corridors, "we can spend at least an hour on the fifth floor."

"What's on the fifth floor?" Harry asked.

"Something special," was all Elena said as she stopped in front of a door and turned fully to face him. "This room, Harry, is traditionally the Master's study – where the Head of the family, who is usually the patriarch, does most of his work. For now, I've taken over since all the documents and records I need are in there, but when I leave..."

"You're leaving?"

"Not now, Harry," Elena rushed to reassure her godson, "not for a long time, I think. But I can barely stay here forever, as tempting as the thought is." Elena had a wistful look in her eyes, but before Harry could say anything, she shook her head and turned away, pointing to another room.

"That one is the Mistress's study." She chuckled softly as she looked at Harry. "Potter men have a habit of choosing strong willed, independent women for their wives. It's actually somewhat amusing, but the point is none of them would stand for being relegated to sitting rooms, when their work was pretty much just as important as their husband's. So eventually that room was officially declared as the Mistress' study." The amused look in her eyes made her look like a different person entirely, and Harry was reminded of the moment in the tunnel with Sirius, when even he had looked like a different man.

"Okay now, this is one room you want to be excited about," Elena had a sparkle in her eye that made Harry a little wary about what he was about to see. Nevertheless, he dutifully followed her as she opened and entered a room that was slightly smaller than the Master's study, but looked cozy. There were bookshelves on the wall behind the desk, but it was that desk that stole most of his attention. The room was decorated in soft shades of blue, and he could see the balcony from the doorway where he was standing. Windows were present on both sides of the balcony, which made light flood into the room.

"What do you think?" Elena asked.

"It looks really nice," Harry told her, still a little confused.

Elena grinned. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Because this room is yours." Harry blinked.

"What?"

Elena grinned even wider. He just looked so adorable when he was confused! "This room is the Heir's study, Harry. Heirs are taught how to properly handle the responsibilities that come with the Head of House title. Since the Head usually grooms him, their studies are close enough that they can go between them anytime."

"Oh," was all Harry could say. Elena grinned, but then her face softened. "The last occupant of this room was James."

Harry turned to look at her, and she smiled sadly at him.

After a moment, she cleared her throat and motioned him out. Leading the way back to the stairs, she pointed out the children's study room along with other interesting rooms as they passed, before stopping at a particular door. She turned to smile at him wryly. "In this family of mom, dad, James and I, I was the only one without a study, and of course that did not sit well with me. So I picked this room as my study. Dad, I believe, was humouring me when he agreed to my demands and furnished this room as a study, but eventually even he agreed that it was a good idea." She grinned. "I never let him forget it. Keep in mind, Harry, that I was seven when this happened." She looked quite pleased with herself, her smile having turned smug.

Harry laughed at the tale as he followed his godmother up the stairs to the next room. He blinked, suddenly realizing that even though he didn't know why she was never there, he had already accepted her as his godmother. It was a bit of a shock, but Harry had long ago decided that his family would always be unusual.

Elena was a bit nervous while leading Harry to the second floor. This floor was completely personal considering it was where all the family rooms were located - hers, James', her parents' and now, his own.

"Most of the rooms on this floor are closed, except for three rooms - yours, mine, and one more that I figured you'd like to see. So this, Harry, is my room," she used her best presenter voice as she opened the door to her rooms.

She'd decorated her rooms with a bold purple, black and white, though there was occasionally a hint of red around. "This here is my private sitting room. James and I would spend a lot of time in here, just talking, or playing games... just spending time together." Her smile was genuine, though small. She pointed to a door on the opposite wall. "There is my bedroom, which connects to my wardrobe and bathroom."

Harry looked awed. "Did this room always look like this?"

Elena rolled her eyes, though she wore a fond smile. "It was pink, but then I decided it needed to change when I reopened the house." She led him out of the room, and opened a door diagonal to her own. "This is your room, Harry."

Harry entered, and blinked his eyes. He blinked again.

The room was completely plain. There was some furniture - the couch, a coffee table, a small table...but there was nothing other than that. Elena chuckled, which brought his very confused gaze to her. "Er..."

"The room is blank so that you can decorate it the way you want to, Harry. The choices are all yours. Any colour, any style... play with the room all you want, Harry. It's all yours. Come on, you have to see this - the reason I picked this room for you."

Harry's wide eyes got even wider when Elena dragged us through the bedroom and onto the balcony. He could see past hills and gardens onto the horizon. Looking immediately down, he could see that this was the same view he had seen from the ballroom, just from higher. He could only summon one word. "Wow."

Elena stood by and let him enjoy himself in his own way - alone with his thoughts in a peaceful place he could call his. It was half past eleven when she finally called him back to earth. Harry quietly followed her out of the balcony and back into his bedroom. Sending him a smile over her shoulder, Elena led him out back to the corridor, around the corner and stopped in front of a door with her hand on the doorknob.

"This is a room I think you'll want to see, Harry," she murmured to him softly as she opened the door.

The sitting room was decorated in Gryffindor reds and golds - though Harry could not help but notice that it seemed much less overwhelming than the Gryffindor common room. He turned to Elena. "What..."

"These were James' rooms."

And just like that, Harry started. This was his dad's room? He was standing in the same place as his dad probably once had. Barely knowing what he was doing, he walked around the room, running his hand on the furniture - the red couch where his dad probably would have sat, the table where he maybe stacked his books, the coffee table where he may have put up his feet, the armchair in front of the fireplace where he would probably sit in winter...

Elena could not stop the waterworks when she saw the expressions that circled Harry's face - awe, sadness, wistfulness...

Without prompting, Harry entered the bedroom. His father's bedroom.

"This room was in blue mainly, with some other colors added in. Then James got sorted into Gryffindor, and it became red and gold," Elena rolled her eyes. Harry just smiled weakly and turned back to the room.

On their way to the fifth floor after a few minutes, Elena quickly pointed out Sirius' and Remus' rooms on the fourth floor before moving on to the topmost floor, excluding the turrets.

Harry looked around on the fifth floor curiously. Since it was the highest floor, the ceiling was made of glass, which cast sunlight all over the floor, making the entire floor look airy and bright. Other than some vases with flowers in them, there was nothing else in sight. When he turned around, the wall behind caught his attention. It was covered from top to bottom in a tapestry. Moving closer, he realized that it was actually a family tree. Small circles containing a painted figure of people were connected by either a golden thread, or silver, or bronze threads.

"The Potter Family Tree," Elena announced. "The golden thread represents a blood relation, silver is for marriage, and bronze is if the person in question was blood adopted."

"Blood adopted?"

"There is a ritual, Harry, that can be performed if there is an adopted child in the family that you want to make a blood bond with, because unless you are on this tapestry in golden or bronze, you cannot be truly be a Potter."

"What do you mean?"

"As a blood Potter, you get certain privileges that you can't have otherwise, like access to the family floor of the library, or access to the Potter heirlooms," Elena explained patiently, "to get to them, to know more about them, you need to have Potter blood in you, or you'll be bodily expelled from these particular rooms because they're all warded heavily. In fact," she added, "you can't access these even if you married into the family. This tapestry, Harry," she pointed at the family tree, "is more than just a record of the family tree. It literally tells us if a member of the family can get through the wards of the private rooms or not."

"Oh," Harry responded simply, now looking through the tapestry. Elena grinned and bent down to point at Harry's name. "Here."

Harry looked carefully at the silver thread that connected his parents, and led down in golden to him.

Harry James Potter

(31st July -)

Before Harry could look even futhur, Elena nudged him. "Come on," she nodded to the large double doors he had somehow missed when he first looked around. "I'll tell you more about the Potter family there."

"What's in there?" Harry asked as he followed her.

"Dear," Elena grinned, "while I honestly don't mind the questions, Harry, a little anticipation can be a good thing." Seeing him looked startled, she rushed to reassure him, "I'm not saying don't ask questions, Harry. I'm enjoying answering them. All I'm saying is that you can let your guard down. There is nothing to hurt you here."

Nothing Harry's startled look, she smiled at him reassuringly before walking ahead and opening the doors, disappearing through them.

Harry stared wide eyed, standing stock still for a few minutes before shaking himself and entering the doors as well.

And then he stood stunned again, looking around in wonder.

The room was even bigger than the ballroom, and all four walls were covered in potraits. Harry felt for a moment like he was back at Hogwarts with it's tapestries and it's portraits. He joined Elena where she was standing in front of what was probably the largest potrait in the entire hall. An old jolly looking man was waving at them happily, and Elena followed suit, waving back with a smile on her face. "This is Linfred of Stinchcombe. He was an eccentric, and to his neighbors, a lovable, but vague and absentminded old man who loved pottering around his garden with his odd plants. They called him 'The Potterer', which eventually became 'Potter'."

"So he was the first Potter?" Harry asked, soaking up everything he was being told. He could never find out anything about his family in school beyond his parents, and he didn't know that much about even them!

"Yes. In fact, he wasn't really crazy at all. His reputation helped him when he would experiment with his plants in the hidden safety of his house. His neighbors all would go to him whenever they were sick, because whatever he gave them would cure them instantly. They, of course, didn't know he was a wizard," she shrugged. With a wry smile she continued, "Out of sight of his neighbors, however, he was experimenting to find cures to different ailments. The Skele-Gro Potion, Pepper-Up, and a quite a few others are more developed versions of potions that he originally created."

"Wow!" Harry was stunned. His ancestor had created something this amazing!

"Yeah. Remember him the next time you need a healing potion. Chances are, they are descended from his potions. Anyways, his eldest son Hardwin married a girl by the name of Iolanthe Peverell, who was the eldest daughter of Ignotus Peverell, the original owner of the Invisibility Cloak. Ever since, it's been passed on to the first child of the family, whether daughter or son." She had stopped in front of a woman with dark hair and green eyes.

"I'd always wondered how the Potters had gotten the Cloak ." Harry murmured softly.

Shooting a wry smile in his direction, Elena led him down the hall, occasionally pointing out some ancestors. She stopped in front of of a man with Harry's same messy raven hair, who grinned mischievously at the two remaining Potters. "This is Henry Potter. He was only the second Potter to become a member of the Wizengamot. He'd brought a lot of changes around, the least of which was better treatment of magical creatures, and his continued support for Muggle rights."

"Better treatment?" Harry questioned skeptically, remembering how Hagrid and Professor Lupin were treated in the Wizarding World.

"Believe it or not, Harry, the situation was far worse then. Now, people actually somewhat know what's going on, and they actually accept them somewhat. Back then, they were completely shunned. Can you imagine what that's like, being treated horribly for something you have no control over?"

Harry did not reply, but his mind flew to second year, when the entire school was scared of him because they thought he was the Heir of Slytherin.

"Anyways, as per his mother's last request, he named his son Fleamont Potter."

"Fleamont?" Harry asked with a slight grin.

"Yup. After Henry's mother's maiden name. He would always say that the reason he was such a great dueller was because of the amount of times he'd have to duel someone after they made fun of his name. So after some really good investments, he literally quadrupled the family fortune to what it is today." She was standing on front of a man who had his bird's nest for hair as well. He had green eyes, though not the same as Harry's, which were a bright emerald green. Fleamont Potter's eyes were more of an ocean green.

"The amount in my vault?"

"Harry, that vault is your trust vault. Every Potter is given one the year they enter Hogwarts. The amount has to last them all 7 years. It's mainly to teach them how to properly economize."

Harry shrugged. "I don't really have that problem."

Elena laughed and nodded. "Anyways, he and his wife Euphemia Potter had this large amount of wealth, but they weren't happy the way they wished they could be; the one thing they wanted the most was a child. Which is why they were very pleasantly surprised when they found out that they were expecting a baby. And an even bigger surprise when they found out two years later that they were expecting again. They lived long enough to see their son, James," here, she snuck a look at Harry, who was only now beginning to realize just who's portrait he was standing in front of, " marry a beautiful woman named Lily. They died a month later at Voldrmort's hand."

Harry was now looking between the depictions of his grandparents and parents. After a few moments, though, he realized something was missing.

"Why don't they talk?"

"Because a portrait cannot replace the person you've lost, Harry. And it would be hard to tear yourself away from here if you could pretty much pretend they were still around." Turning him to her, she looked him in the eyes, "Trust me when I say this, Harry. It's always best to let the dead stay dead. This entire hall is nothing more than memories. Don't lose yourself in here."

Harry nodded, a little stunned. A quick beeping sound interrupted the two. Elena stood straight up and sighed.

"What was that?" Harry asked quietly.

"That was the Tempus Charm I set to tell me when it's a quarter to one. Neville and his Gran will be here in fifteen minutes. Come one," she nodded to the doors, but let Harry lead the way this time. However, when he started to go near the stairs, she shook her head and guided him to a small, nearly nondescript door. Harry opened the door to find a large room with shelves on each wall. There was a large table in the centre.

"This is the only floor of the library where the only people allowed are Potters by blood. No one else is allowed entry."

"Why?"

"This floor contains the entire history of the Potter family, Harry. All journals, spells, spell books...anything that any Potter wants to remain a secret, in the family, it all ends up in here. This part of the fifth floor is heavily warded. You try to sneak in even if you're not allowed, you're going to end up in the dungeons," she grinned mischievously. "You can always ask Sirius about it. He's got first hand experience," she laughed.

"What!" Harry gaped. Elena just nodded, still laughing.

xoxo

On their way back down, Elena showed Harry the hidden staircase, the door to which was at the back of every floor of the library. It led them straight down to the ground floor, though Elena did show him the door to the sweeping staircase inside the ballroom. She opened the door on the ground floor to a long, almost empty hall with plenty of windows, and vases with flowers. Between the windows was a large glass double door that Elena told him led to the gardens. She then led led him through a small corridor and back to the Entrance Hall, in a small alcove under the stairs.

Neville and Augusta Longbottom were just being shown in when the two Potters appeared from under the stairs. With some surprise on Neville's part, he greeted his friend, while subtly scrutinizing him. Harry appeared to be relaxed in a way that Neville had rarely seen at Hogwarts. His eyes were brighter, and he seemed to have a content feeling surrounding him. _Well, _he thought,_ if Harry can deal with this, then so can I_. It had not escaped his notice over three years how Harry always seemed to be even thinner when he'd come back from vacations.

Elena smiled at her other godson, though she could also see that he was deep in thought. She clapped her hands softly, motioning to the Informal Dining Room, "Shall we?"

* * *

**Elena's story coming up next! Who's as excited as I am?**

**What do you think? Let me know! You can review or PM me - I'm fine with either (though be warned, I might take a while to reply should you PM me)**

:)


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer - It's been a while, but I still don't own Harry Potter. So far, Elena is the only character who is born of my own imagination. Of course the plot is also mine...**

**AN - I found this chapter a little hard to write, though I think that had to do with writer's block, and loads of ongoing family drama. It's also crazy to realize that right now, I have 478 followers and 281 favorites on this story. When did that happen? AAH! I love you guys so much! Thank you all!**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

**Love of An Aunt**

**A Harry Potter FanFiction**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**2:08 pm, 16****th**** June 1994**

"Well," Elena sighed. Harry and Neville were seated on the sofa facing her armchair. Augusta had taken the other armchair while Sirius and Remus took the other sofa.

The six had finished lunch and relocated to the sitting room on the second floor. The sitting room was decorated in shades of green that somehow looked warm and inviting without looking overwhelming, though neither Harry or Neville noticed it. The small group quickly took seats, then looked at Elena expectantly.

"Here goes nothing," she muttered softly before clearing her throat.

"I was born in 1962, two years after James. As I told you before, Harry," she looked at the two boys in front of her, "James was a surprise to mom and dad, and I was even more so..." Sirius snorted. Remus frowned at him.

Elena ignored them both. "Growing up, James and I were very close to each other. Mon taught us the basics of studies, and she taught me how to be a proper lady while dad taught James about his duties as heir..." Her eyes gazed past them, lost in memories. "It was just the four of us, and we were happy."

"Eventually, when I was nine, James went off to Hogwarts, where he ended up creating the Marauders. I'd never met Wormtail or Moony, but Sirius, James and I were often grouped together on playdates, so I knew, and most definitely did not," she smirked, "like him. I thought he was a little terror, actually."

She chuckled when she looked at Sirius to find him glaring at her, shaking her head before looking at the boys. Both their faces practically demanded for her to hurry up already.

"Unofficially, I was a Marauder the since they were in their first year when I helped them out with a prank."

Harry blurted out "unofficially" the same time as Neville who asked, "the Marauders?"

Elena shot an apologetic look at him, "I didn't explain that, did I?" She frowned. Before Neville could say anything though, she continued, "The Marauders were a group of five if us - James, Remus, Sirius," she gestured at the two on the other sofa, "myself, and Peter Pettigrew." The last name was said through her teeth, startling Neville. Harry also looked angry, while Sirius and Remus were just murderous.

"I was a more of a behind the scenes member, though, which is why my name is not on the Map I know Harry showed you," she said pointedly. Harry just grinned.

She just rolled her eyes fondly. "James and I would write to each other almost all the time..."

"I remember that!" Sirius exclaimed. Elena just closed her eyes in exasperation, though she was glad that even after all these years with the dementors, he still remembered something so small. "After the feast he'd write to her with Aquila, and then around evening Elena would reply back. Next evening again James would send his letter. First and second year that kept going on. Every evening James would either receive a letter, or send one."

"Anyways," she shot Sirius a pointed look, "I met Remus that winter. He'd decided not to go home for Christmas, so James invited him here," she smirked, "without telling mom! The tongue lashing he received when he just announced that Remus was coming home with us..."

"Two years later, I joined Hogwarts. Frank was in fourth year, and the boys, Lily and Alice were in third. I didn't really enjoy spending time with many people in my year, though, at least, not the ones in Gryffindor."

"Why not?" Neville asked.

"I didn't really belong in Gryffindor house, Neville. Sure, I asked the Hat to place me there, but I really shouldn't have been there. I should have been in Slytherin."

"What? Then why'd you ask for Gryffindor?" Neville spluttered.

"Things were getting bad, Neville. It wasn't apparent, but we knew because dad was the head of the Auror office. Muggleborns were being attacked, though they were being covered up, and Slytherin had a lot of children from pureblood families - ones that were outspoken for less muggleborn rights. And while I am all for preserving family traditions and all that, they were going too far. I knew that even at eleven. Slytherin was a very bad idea at that point.

"Anyways, the boys were quite well known in school by then. They had admirers. And since James was my brother, I knew the rest of them well enough that most people wanted me to introduce them. The girls in my dorm were particularly vain, which is why most of my friends in my year were Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, though I did interact with the occasional Slytherin.. I got to know Lily and Alice a few months into first year. I could always go rant to Lily whenever James was being a prat," she chuckled.

"Sirius and I became close in my third year when he did something stupid enough that James and Remus were both angry at him." Padfoot lowered his head. "Just a little while before that, all of us had become Animagi..."

"You're an Animagus?!" Neville exclaimed.

Elena looked at him, and in the next second, a silver fox was curled up on the couch where she had been sitting. At the same time, Sirius had turned into Padfoot. Poor Neville's head kept whipping between the two, seemingly undecided on where to look, while Harry, who was familiar with Padfoot, stared at Elena. A few minutes later, she transformed back, though Sirius did not.

"I spent some of my time in school with them, tried to joined the Quidditch team in third year as Seeker, not that it worked out - and I didn't want it to either, considering I'd only tired out on James' persuasion. Things were more relaxed there, though the rest of the wizarding world was a different story entirely. James chased Lily, she kept rejecting him, Sirius was a prat, Remus was nice, Alice was always a riot... I didn't get to know Frank until just a few weeks before he left Hogwarts."

"So mum and dad didn't get along?" Harry asked, eager to know more about his parents, though he also seemed a bit upset at that.

"Harry, Lily had her reasons for saying no every time. It wasn't until the end of their sixth year, my fourth, that things changed."

"What happened then?" Neville asked.

"I got attacked."

The boys' eyes widened, while Padfoot growled and Remus flinched.

"I met with a friend, then spent time with some other Ravenclaw friends, and was on my way back to Gryffindor tower. They attacked me from behind. It wasn't pretty; broken bones, my lung was punctured, my skull was fractured, but their biggest concern was a cut to my stomach, which wouldn't stop bleeding. I had to regularly be given Blood Replenishing Potions so that I wouldn't bleed out... They had to call in help from St. Mungo's. The only reason they didn't take me there was because they couldn't risk moving me, even by Portkey."

"It was that bad?" Augusta asked. Elena jumped slightly, having forgotten she was even there, then nodded.

"I was dead for three minutes," she revealed. Sirius, who'd turned back into himself, gasped and jumped up. Remus was pale, and Harry and Neville both looked at each other, their faces devoid of any color. "Three minutes and twelve seconds exactly before they managed to restart my heart. The boys were the ones to find me. I doubt I would have survived if they were not close by, preparing for the end of year prank."

"James was franctic," Remus' voice was grave. "Their parents were away and couldn't be reached and Elena was in a coma. She woke up after five days, and was on bedrest for a week more."

Elena spoke again. "I think that was when it struck us that there was actually a war going on, or at least would be soon - none of us had actually been hurt until then..." Her eyes looked hollow as she remembered, "it was when we all grew up." She smiled wryly.

"Fifth year was tense. I had a reputation for being able to hold my own in a duel, but I'd been attacked despite that. The boys worked out a schedule with Lily and Alice so that I was never alone, and as annoyed as I was at the time, they proved right for doing it when there were other attempts on me. So towards the end of the year, after my O.W.L. exams, we decided that I wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts. It wasn't safe anymore, and I was already a target."

"But what about your N.E.W.T. exams?" Neville wondered.

"Mum, dad, Lily and James helped me learn, and I had their notes and everything. I gave them a year later, when the rest of my Hogwarts classmates were still giving their sixth year exams. Soon after, James and Lily and Alice and Frank got married, and then mum and dad were attacked.

"It wasnt long after James and Lily came back from their honeymoon, in August. Lily had gone to visit her parents, and James was accompanying mom and dad to an appointment at St. Mungo's. All five of us were supposed to meet at Diagon Alley for lunch. We were at Fortescue's when Death Eaters stormed the Alley.

"Mom was struck by a stray curse which killed her immediately," she remembered sadly. "Dad was enraged. He fought like a person possessed. He'd singlehandedly killed almost half of them before a Killing Curse hit him in the back."

"The entire Wizarding World mourned their deaths," Augusta recalled.

"We locked up Potter Manor and moved to London after that. Sirius and Remus lived there as well, which helped James and Lily a lot. In December we found out that Lily and Alice were pregnant," she nodded to the sofa where the boys were.

"It was something to smile about, something to be excited about in an atmosphere that was grim with fighting all the time. Then, about a month before you were born, in Dumbledore called us to Hogwarts. Frank and Alice met us there." Elena looked at both boys squarely.

"He revealed something that changed our lives, and sent us into hiding. James, Lil and I moved to Godric's Hollow since Frank and Alice had a house there. Lily and Alice gave birth in a Muggle hospital within fifteen minutes of each other. Once they were released, we went back to Godric's Hollow. I'd switch between both houses every fifteen days.

"All five of us were going nuts in hiding, but we had no choice. James would occasionally sneak out when he could, and sometimes take someone with him under the Cloak. Your birthdays passed, and then came Halloween." She could see everyone, even Augusta tense. Elena herself was already drained out.

"It was the second half of the month, so I was staying at Frank and Alice's. We put Neville to bed, and then went to the living room to listen to the Wireless. And there it was," she smiled humorlessly. "The announcer was celebrating Voldemort's death. And then he said that James and Lily were dead, but that Harry was alive…

"I rushed home, only to find the house in ruins. The front door was blasted open, and James was," she gasped, "on the ground near the staircase. His eyes were open," her voice shook, "but I needed to find Lily and Harry. So I rushed upstairs to Harry's nursery, where I could hear his crying, and I entered the room.

"It was blasted apart," Elena paused to suck in a breath, far, far away from the present. "Lily was on the ground and Harry was crying and his forehead was bleeding, and I was going to go to him but I couldn't stop staring at Lily," she gasped, shaking. Augusta was sobbing in the background and Elena could hear both Moony and Padfoot sniffing. She didn't look at the boys, though she could feel their gazes burning into her. After a few minutes she cleared her throat and continued, her voice stronger.

"I had just started crossing the room to go to Harry when something, a spell, hit me in the back.

"I woke up a month later in a magical hospital in Salem, America, with no memory of my past."

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**Yes, it's a cliffhanger, and I will try my best to get the next chapter up as fast as I can. And the story does speed up after this, I promise. **

**What do you think? Follow, Favorite, Review or PM. I'm fine with any of them. (Do be warned, I might take a while to reply to PMs)**

**Loads of Love xD**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is out. Can I own it? Please? Along with all the characters? Pretty please with a cherry on top? No? Aww bursts into tears**

**AN - I am so, so, so, so, so, so sorry for not updating half as much as I should have - or even a quarter of it. All I can say is that life got in the way, which is a pretty horrible excuse. But I finally finished this chapter, which feels good, and scary... Anyways, I've been accused of being a sadist by Dgf123, and have also been told off by him/her more than once. So you can thank them, because that actually motivated me (better late than never?) So, anyways, enjoy. I'm off to sleep because it's 1 o' clock in the morning, and I'm tired. I really hope you like it. **

**Love of an Aunt**

**A Harry Potter Fanfiction**

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**Chapter 7**

"What do you mean, no memory of your past?" Remus asked quietly, though Elena, who had experienced his moods, knew that he was enraged. The angrier Remus got, the quieter he got, and the quieter Remus got, the more dangerous he became.

"I mean that I had no memory at all, Moony," Elena said slowly. "I woke up on the 3rd of November. What happened to me between Halloween and then, or where I was, nothing was apparent. And even now, that all my memories are back, I still have no idea what happened to me."

"But who would do this to you?" Harry voiced, clearly upset.

"I'm trying to find out, Harry. But, going back to my depressing story," she glared at Sirius when he made to protest, "they tried a lot of different methods to bring back my memory. There was magical evidence in my head – enough to know that my memory loss was the result of something magical, so methods focused on potions, spells and the like. But nothing worked, so they started focusing on helping me build a life.

"I became Amelia Reid. I don't know exactly why – something about that name felt right to me. I'd been in the hospital in Salem for around three months when I met my master."

"Your master?" Harry repeated skeptically.

Noting his tone, Elena cocked her head. "What are you thinking, Harry?" She asked, though a basic idea of his perceptions had formed already.

"You had a master?"

Elena couldn't help the small laugh that slipped out of her as she shook her head. "Harry, those who called Voldemort as 'Master' were, for the most part, nothing more to him than servants. But the title of 'Master' has a very different significance to the rest of the world. I was not his servant, Harry," her eyes were locked with his, forcing him to look at her. "I was his apprentice."

Her younger godson visibly relaxed. "Oh."

Elena titled her head. "Master Gilbert and I met in the hospital. I was bored, and drawing what I thought were random shapes, but they didn't seem right to me. A few feet ahead of me, two men were discussing wards, and without realizing what I was doing, I corrected one of them, bringing their attention to me. Master Gilbert looked at me and told me that what I had just brought to their attention was something very few people would know.

"From there we talked. I explained to him that I had total memory loss and didn't know who I was, or where I was from. He accepted my explanation and tested me."

"Tested you how?" Remus asked.

Elena smiled fondly at the memory. "Quick fire questions."

"What?"

"He asked me a question, and I had to tell him the first word that popped into my head. And it worked. I answered almost all the questions correctly, and he asked me to be his apprentice on the spot."

"Sly…" Remus trailed off, but his meaning was not lost on her. She rolled her eyes. "I didn't accept immediately, Moony. I talked to a few people – my doctor, a few nurses, a few other patients before I made my decision. It was either that, or I'd have to take a job and figure out my life on my own. This way, I wasn't alone.

"I had my own wing in his house. I got comfortable there, and slowly I began making it mine. And in the meantime, Master took me through everything again, and I began accompanying him to projects, erecting minor wards, helping out with the stronger ones… I slowly started being more and more independent.

Master's house was just outside a small Muggle village. Somewhat like Hogsmeade, actually. Quite a bit of our supplies came from there, so Master taught me how to interact with Muggles without giving away that I was a witch. And eventually I began to make trips there on my own. And if I do say so myself, I did quite well. I even began speaking a little like them, and even now, phrases like Good Lord are not uncommon for me.

"Eventually I resigned myself to never getting my memories back, but my life was good – I had a roof over my head, food in the kitchen, money in the bank, friends I could go out with which were both magical and mundane, and I even had a mentor in my Master. Apart from my missing memories, life was good.

"Being a warder is a very lucrative career choice – if you like spending half your time awake, and asleep for that matter, in the library, which I very much did. You are ensuring the safety of people's homes, their workplaces, and you even make sure that certain things cannot happen within the vicinity of the wards, if you want advanced enough. As a result, Master was well known among society, and very well respected. Balls, parties, and the like became the norm for us. That was my life for years – spend my time in the library learning Runes, learning other languages – both dead ones and alive – go to the village to spend time with my mundane friends, spend time with my magical friends, attend social events, make trips to nearby cities... I even started teaching the senior students at Ilvermorny School in America twice a week."

Elena paused here to take a drink of her water, absently noting at the back of her mind that it was a self refilling glass. She took a few moments to center herself, knowing that this next part would incite reactions from everyone in the room, even Augusta.

"It was at a MACUSA gala in New York where I met my fiance."

"What?!" Sirius shouted indigantly, jumping up.

"You're engaged?" Augusta asked sharply.

"You have a fiance?" Remus blinked with wide eyes. Harry and Neville both looked shocked, though neither said a word.

"Yes, I'm engaged. His name is Teodor Krum, he is Bulgarian, and he will probably, work allowing, be joining us in a few days, so you can meet him then. Sirius, sit down," she added pleasantly, though the sharp glare she gave him made him obey without comment.

"Teodor and I were introduced in 1986 – April, I think it was, but it wasn't until at least a year later that we actually started talking to each other. He works with his father in their family business, and would, at the time, visit America once in a while for work. Before I knew it, we would be talking all the time, he would come to the house often enough that Master added him to the wards, and believe me, that happened almost...never.

Almost three years after we were first introduced, he told me that he was in love with me. At that point, I wasn't in love with him, and I told him as much. But he was confident, and he told me, sooner or later, that I would love him. I was amused, and told him he could try." She shook her head with a wry grin. "He won, because I did fall in love with him, wnough that when he eventually asked me to marry him with Master's permission, three years ago, on the 16th of March, I said yes."

"Three years, Elena," Augusta's tone sounded disappproving, and Elena grimanced internally, knowing exactly why.

"Both Teodor and I had been focused on our careers for the first two years of our engagement, and since October last y-"

"Wait," Sirius interrupted. "16th of March?"

Elena smiled wryly. "I realized the significance of the date after I got my memories back."

"What's on the 16th of March?" Neville asked.

Remus answered him. "James' birthday." A few seconds passed before Elena cleared her throat and continued.

"Anyways, we spent two years of our engagement busy with our careers – and neither of us have been in any rush to get married. And then, in October, my Master died.

"Master wasn't married, and he had no children. Almost all his material possessions he left to me, and I was beyond stunned when I found out the extent of the estate he left to me. There are properties all over the mention a rather sizeable fortune.

The goblins in our local Gringotts in _ wanted to get all the paperwork done with, and then it took me till the end of February to completely go through the entire estate.

In March, I decided to take a week long vacation to one of the houses, and I chose to come to London. Master's – _my_ – London house had been locked down by Gringotts – actually all the houses were in lockdown, and some still are. For every property, I have to go to the local Gringotts to have them taken out of lockdown since they have control of the lockdown wards. And to take down the wards, first they have to verify my identity. London was the first house I was doing this with.

"I went to the Gringotts in Diagon Alley and was asked to prove my identity via a blood test." Elena sipped from her water absently, lost in her memories.

"A wizard's magic, like their blood, or their Patronus or Animagus forms, is unique to that particular person, and that person only. Gringotts keeps records of every customers magic, and a sample of their blood. However, these records are not kept on an international level. So, back in 1982 when we opened a vault in my newly given identity, no one realized that there was already a record that matched this newly made one all the way in England. So, when I informed my advisor in the New York Gringotts that I would be vacationing in the London house, he informed me of the procedure and sent a copy of my record on to Diagon Alley. That entry was probably added to their records without checking if there was a match.

"So, in March, when I gave the blood test, two names popped up, confusing all the goblins. Then, they tested my magical signature, which again was the same. However, literally the entire world, which included the goblins, were under the impression that Harry was the only Potter left, though no one knew what had actually happened to Elena Potter. And then, somewhere in the load of confusion, I mentioned that I had lost my memory.

"Finally, the manager of the Potter accounts suggested a solution. This ring," she tapped the ring that appeared on her right ring finger. It had an ornate crest that confused Harry – a roaring lion with a snake's head on top of it. Before he could ask, however, his aunt continued.

"A ring like this is worn by the Head of House of a family, and in the case of this ring, the Head of House Potter. So if I was actually Elena Potter, this ring would accept me, considering she would be the only adult Potter, while reversing any spells the family magic deemed wrong. If I wasn't Elena Potter, the Potter family magics would curse me for trying to steal something that wasn't mine to take.

As a warder, in the last few years, I've studied quite a few obscure magics. So I knew very well just what this meant, but I also knew that instinct was almost forcing me to take this risk. So I did. I put on the ring, and then I blacked out.

I woke up a day later with my memory intact." Elena was forced to cut off when Remus, Harry and Neville sighed in relief, and Sirius jumped out his chair with a whoop. Augusta potrayed a look of profound relief. She shook her head – they already knew that she had her memories back considering she was sitting right in front of them!

"The goblins opened the townhouse for me, and I went there to try and make sense of everything. Once I had so much as a basic understanding, I contacted Teodor and told him everything, and together we figured out a plan whose basics were to find out where the lot of you were, find out how much things had changed in this world, and keep myself on the down low. I've also been trying to manage the Potter estate. I don't teach at Ilvermorny anymore, though I do still take some projects when I particularly like them.

"Harry and Neville were easy to find at Hogwarts, and from there Remus was easy to find as DADA Professor...I have to admit, Moony, you're a natural," she grinned. Moony actually _blushed_ – it was faint, but she could see it, and her smile grew even wider.

"One stroll down Diagon Alley was enough to tell me about Sirius, and I got the public's version of the tale by pretending to be a magical tourist – I just pretended to be Amelia Reid, which I kind of was, so it wasn't even a lie. Fortescue was very helpful And while the story angered me to no end, it didn't give me any hints as to where Sirius actually was. In the meantime, I managed to find and track Augusta down only for her to completely turn down the tables and corner me," her voice was both sheepish and frustruated.

"Serves you right, young lady," Augusta scolded. "Thinking you could just follow me and try to sneak up on me like that, and that I would simply allow it -"

"You weren't supposed to know!" Exclaimed Elena, though that was met with a severe frown. She rolled her eyes. "Anyways, she didn't believe my identity until I showed her my ring. Only after that did she let me off wandpoint. Ever since, she's been...for lack of a better word, my partner in crime." Neville did a double take at the expression on his Gran's face – it was, for the first time he could ever remember, smug. Elena saw it too, and bit back a chuckle. "As you can clearly see, she is enjoying herself immensely." She ignored the glare she recieved for that one.

"Anyways, over weekends, I'd sneaked into Hogwarts occasionally. The first time was just to see if I could catch a glimpse of either boys, and you'd be hard pressed to imagine my surprise when I heard two students talking about how a certain 'Professor Lupin' who was teaching much better than any of their previous DADA teachers. And then Moony himself walked out of the castle.

"After that, I knew it was only Sirius left I needed to find, and I figured he would be at Hogwarts. I heard quite a bit about your attacks in Hogwarts in one evening at The Three Broomsticks, Sirius. I actually was quite annoyed. I couldn't contact you at the time, though, and since I knew Harry was not actually in danger, if anything, he was safer with both Moony and Padfoot watching over him. I'd sneak into Hogwarts occasionally, and despite what most people think, Albus Dumbledore does not know everything. There is no Animagus ward on Hogwarts, so Dumbledore did not know about my presence, and for that matter, he didn't know about Wormtail's presence either.

I'd occasionally have to go back to America for work, but other than that, I've been mainly inspecting the Potter properties, auditing companies in the Potter portfolio, auditing companies in my portfolio, sneaking into Hogwarts... Then I sent you the letter two nights ago, and you know the rest..." Elena trailed off, glad to finally be talking.

Silence reigned for a few minutes as Elena gazed blankly, lost in her memories, but then her sensitive ears caught the sounds of fidgeting from the sofa her godsons were seated on. Both were fidgeting, wanting to leave, though neither wanted to make the first move. Elena cocked her head, before shaking her head and standing up.

"Well, I daresay today has had a lot of revelations for all of you. We have around an hour until dinner, so why don't you refresh yourselves? One of the elves will alert you when it is time for supper. In the meantime, Harry, Neville, will you join me for a walk?" Both boys nodded, and the three excused themselves.

Elena led the way to the grounds leading the boys on to one of the pathways created in the expansive grounds of the Manor. Finally, she spoke.

"Neville, if I asked you what your favourite subject in school, what would your reply be?"

"Herbology," Neville said quietly.

Elena's eyebrow raised up, seemingly of it's own accord. "Herbology? You'd be unique in that." Catching Neville's downcast gaze, she added, "Being unique is never a bad thing, Neville. It defines you, separates you from a crowd of people who do their best to mold to a preset perception who's origins no one is ever certain of. Herbology makes you unique because as important as it is, it's considered… unadventurous. That doesn't mean it isn't – Devil's Snare and Venomous Tentacula are enough to prove that, but it still is very different from everyone else. And I will tell you this, it's different even from Alice and Frank. Alice preferred Charms, while Frank loved Defence." She caught his eyes with her own when he peered up at her. "It doesn't mean that you aren't your parents' son. It just means that you are more than just your parents' son."

Neville nodded thoughtfully, not saying much, but, understanding he was mulling over her words, Elena turned to Harry. "What would be your best strength?"

Harry blinked, "I like Defen-" but Elena raised a hand, and he fell silent.

"I don't mean subject, Harry. From what I observed at Hogwarts, Neville spent quite a bit of his time in the greenhouses there, and your Herbology Professor also seemed quite fond of him. But you seemed to gravitate towards the Quidditch pitch quite often, even after the Cup finals, which I was there for, by the way. So let me rephrase. How much do you like flying?"

A smile spread across Harry's face, and an ache appeared in Elena's chest – he looked so much like her brother! "Flying feels amazing. Nothing matters when I'm up there – all I need to do is catch the snitch. Other than that, there is nothing else I have to do."

Elena smiled. "I wasn't a Quidditch player myself, but I am a Potter – I am an excellent flyer myself. All of us had our favourites – James was the best among us at Transfiguration, Lily was amazing at Charms and Potions, Alice was a natural at Charms and quite good at Arithmacy, and Frank was a dab hand at Defence. My strongest subjects were always Charms and Runes, and that always followed me in life," she mused. Absently, she noted that Neville was listening as attentively as Harry was. "Anyways, I was asking you, Neville, because the greenhouses here are in a state of complete stasis. The lockdown on the Manor triggered the stasis. There are two elves here who are slowly reviving the plants, however, they are no experts. So what I am asking, Neville, is if you would like to join in with them? I cannot safely allow you to be the only one there, but if either Greenie or Misty join you while you're there, then I could be ensured of your safety while giving you the chance to work on something you would no doubt enjoy. And you would also have some privacy in the greenhouses, because no one usually tends to wander towards that corner of the grounds. What say you?"

Neville looked hopefully at his godmother, and once he realized it was a serious offer, he grinned hugely. "Yes, I would like that," he said, his eyes shining. Elena chuckled and pointed ahead of them, where a few glasshouses stood towering above them. Gesturing, she led the two boys inside the first one. "This is the one with the tamest plants. The stasis is slowly being removed from here on. And Neville, the library has a whole section on Herbology if you need any help that books can provide. The system in there is the same as Longbottom House, so I doubt you'll have trouble using it. Now, I'm showing Harry the Quidditch Pitch. Would you like to come with us, or would you prefer to stay here?"

Looking around the greenhouse with an assessing gaze, Neville didn't reply, but Elena got the message, and she beckoned for Harry to leave, following behind with one last look at Neville. The twosome quietly walked away from the greenhouses. After a few minutes, Elena spoke.

"The reason I'm showing Neville the greenhouses, and you the Quidditch pitch, is so that it can be a bit of an escape. When I want to lose myself from my life, I've always hid in the books in the library. I'd take a book, and become so lost in it, that for a few hours, I could forget all my troubles, all my problems, everything waiting for me outside that book. What is coming ahead is not going to be easy for you or Neville, and I wanted to give you that one place you can go to when you want to forget. Am I wrong in assuming that this place is the pitch for you? Or rather, flying?"

Harry shook his head, staring at the ground. A multitude of emotions were going through him at the moment, and he squashed down the urge to run to the pitch he could see at the end of the patch he was currently walking on with his aunt. "I've always felt free when I'm flying. When I'm doing all those loop de loops, of a corkscrew roll, or even if I'm just flying, no fancy moves." Elena just inclined her head, not saying anything. Both walked silently for a few moments, before Harry spoke again.

"What did you mean, the next few weeks won't be easy?"

Elena smiled sadly. "Harry, if you had grown up here, where you should have, you would have had the same education that mum and dad provided James and I with. Not just studies, but also things you needed, and still need to learn as a heir to one of the oldest and most illustrious Houses in the entire Wizarding World. You would have learnt basic spells, how to defend yourself, how to conduct yourself, manners, etiquette, all of that. That opportunity was taken away from you then. But Sirius and I would be remiss in our duties as your godparents and your guardians if we didn't make sure you knew these things now. And I also want to train you for what is no doubt going to come next, because there is still a threat to your life, and to a lesser extent, Neville's. Defence, dueling and the like. And of course, I also have to teach you our family magic."

Harry blinked hard. "To be honest, that sounds exhausting."

His aunt smiled wryly."I daresay it will be. But it will be useful to you all your life. And don't worry, Sirius will make sure it's not all work and no play." She looked up. "And here we are."

Suddenly aware of his surroundings once again, Harry looked around with wide eyes at the Quidditch stadium. It was the same size as the one at Hogwarts, but had significantly less stands. Elena provided some facts as he looked around. "Most privately owned Quidditch stadiums are of this size, but then, when our ancestor built the pitch, his wife strongly objected to anything larger. Which, I should mention, are about as large as the pitches used in the World Cup." The young boy could imagine spending quite a bit of his time here.

Elena announced her departure, mentioning that a house elf would inform him when it was time for dinner, and Harry turned. "But I have so many questions!"

Elena smiled wryly. "Then make a list of what you want to ask me, and then ask. I'm not going anywhere, Harry." She smiled reassuringly, and kissed his forehead before she left. Harry blinked, startled. No one had ever done that before.

Pop!

Dobby appeared. "Sir Harry Potter Sir be needing his broom. Dobby gets it for him!" In his hand was the prized Firebolt.

Harry grinned and thanked him, taking the broom and watching as his new house elf and old friend popped away, before he swung on and grasped the wooden handle of his Firebolt, and _flew_.

xoxo

Both Harry and Neville met each other in the Entrance Hall, Harry looking windswept, and Neville covered in dirt and soil. Both boys, however, had bright eyes and a smile firmly on their face, relaxed as they could be. The two cleaned up quickly (Trixy showed Neville to the room that would be his on the fourth floor) and entered the dining room together just in time as Augusta, Remus, and Elena were sitting down. Elena looked at the two and motioned to their spots at the table before rolling her eyes. "Sirius is late. Again."

Suddenly, a loud voice sounded, scaring almost everyone in the room.

"ELENA!"

As confused looks were shot her way, Elena's eyes filled with realization, and she just laughed.

* * *

**So, I'm thinking of changing the name of this fic. Any suggestions, anyone? **

**Please follow, favourite and review. It warms my heart every time I receive a notification.**


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